BRISTOL, UK — A U.K. judge ruled that four street preachers, two from America and two from the United Kingdom, who sued police over what they considered a “sustained campaign of harassment” as they have faced criminal charges and were jailed — and some were prosecuted for their gospel preaching, were “lawfully arrested” by police.
Mike Overd, one the “Bristol Four,” who was a plaintiff in the recent case that challenged police for a series of incidents, sought to hold law enforcement accountable for their constant interference with their street ministry activities. Most notably, the 2016 case in which he, along with fellow street preachers Mike Stockwell, Don Karns and Adrian Clark, were charged with violating the Crime and Disorder Act of 1998. As previously reported, the men had taken turns preaching outside of the Bristol City Centre while the others held signs or engaged in one-on-one conversation.
“The last decade has been crazy, really. [It has been] steadily getting worse from authorities and certainly an element of the general public,” plaintiff Mike Overd said in a video released by Christian Concern. “There are windows of grace and quietness from the police and the authorities, and then it all kicks off again.”
Following a two-week hearing at Bristol County Court, Judge Alexander Ralton dismissed the claims in full, ruling the actions taken by officers were lawful.
According to the Somerset County Gazette in the U.K., a further hearing at the Bristol County Court on Friday resulted in a denial of the street preachers’ “application for leave to appeal the ruling,” and Judge Ralton ordered the claimants to pay costs to Avon and Somerset Police.
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