Marco Rubio’s State Department is standing up for free speech in the United Kingdom after the arrests of Christians participating in silent prayer.
Individuals in the U.K. can face unlimited fines for protesting or silently praying within 150 meters, just under 500 feet, of an abortion clinic. The buffer zones were introduced last year.
‘The US State Department is right to call out this injustice.’
Livia Tossici-Bolt, a 64-year-old retired medical scientist, was convicted in April for holding a sign reading, “Here to talk, if you want to,” near a facility offering abortion services. She was sentenced to a conditional discharge and fined £20,000.
Adam Smith-Connor, a veteran of the British Army Reserves, was fined £9,000 last year for silently praying near an abortion clinic.
Rose Docherty, a 75-year-old grandmother, was arrested in Scotland in February for holding a sign that read, “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.” The case against her was dropped last week.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce is under investigation for silently praying near a Birmingham abortion facility.
The Trump administration has been monitoring Tossici-Bolt’s case and warns that individuals’ fundamental rights are at risk in the U.K.
During the Munich Security Conference in February, Vice President JD Vance accused European leaders of engaging in censorship. He later confronted U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer about this issue during a meeting at the Oval Office.
“We do have, of course, a special relationship with our friends in the U.K. and also with some of our European allies,” Vance told reporters. “But we also know that there have been infringements on free speech that actually affect not just the British — of course, what the British do in their own country is up to them — but also American technology companies and, by extension, American citizens. So that is something we’ll talk about today at lunch.”
Starmer responded to Vance’s comments, stating, “Well, we’ve had free speech for a very, very long time in the United Kingdom, and it will last for a very, very long time.”
The State Department’s 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released earlier this month, stated that “the human rights situation worsened in the United Kingdom during the year.”
“Significant human rights issues included credible reports of serious restrictions on freedom of expression, including enforcement of or threat of criminal or civil laws in order to limit expression; and crimes, violence, or threats of violence motivated by antisemitism,” the report read.
The State Department issued a warning to the U.K. this week about its buffer zone policies.
A spokesperson for the State Department told the Telegraph, “The U.K.’s persecution of silent prayer represents not only an egregious violation of the fundamental right to free speech and religious liberty, but also a concerning departure from the shared values that ought to underpin U.S.-U.K. relations.”
“It is common sense that standing silently and offering consensual conversation does not constitute harm.”
The spokesperson noted that the administration continues to monitor U.K. cases and “other acts of censorship throughout Europe.”
The U.K. has rejected the Trump administration’s claims that the buffer zone policies violate fundamental freedoms.
“Free speech is vital for democracy, including here in the UK, and we are proud to uphold freedoms while keeping citizens safe,” a government official told the Telegraph.
Lorcan Price, Irish barrister and legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom International, stated, “The U.K.’s treatment of individuals like Livia, Adam, Isabel, and Rose for the false ‘crimes’ of praying silently or offering conversation shows just how far the country has strayed from its own proud traditions of liberty. The U.S. State Department is right to call out this injustice. It is time for the U.K. government to restore fundamental freedoms and repeal buffer zone legislation.”
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