Last week, Caroline Farrow, a Catholic mother of five and UK director of CitizenGo, was arrested in her home for allegedly committing ‘malicious communications’ online (she strenuously denies these allegations).
Farrow’s account of the arrest—supported by cell phone photos and statements—details heavy-handed police forcing their way into her home, seizing her electronic devices, searching her, and whisking her away in a police car, all in front of her children and without a search warrant. This account is shocking, but by no means unique.
In 2019, Farrow endured a five-month-long police investigation after she ‘misgendered’ someone on Twitter. The investigation tied up police resources for months, subjected Farrow to hours’-long police interviews, and kept her in constant suspense over whether she would be charged—an experience that would discourage many people from voicing their beliefs. The police eventually dropped the case, but the message was loud and clear to Farrow and other citizens who share her beliefs: fall in line, or face the consequences.
That same year, former police officer Harry Miller was investigated by police for allegedly tweeting transphobic comments. Though no crime had been committed, Miller recalls the police officer stating “he needed to check my thinking.” The police recorded Miller’s actions as a ‘non-crime hate incident’—something he successfully overturned only after a lengthy court battle. And just a few months ago, Hampshire police arrested an army veteran for “causing anxiety” by retweeting a meme critical of Pride Month.
What seemed unthinkable just a decade ago is coming true across the West, as politicized police forces use grueling investigations and arrests to scare people into silence. All too often, it works; but every now and again a courageous citizen speaks up, and pushes the battle for freedom out of the shadows and into the open.
That’s what Päivi Räsänen did. Räsänen has served as a member of the Finnish Parliament since 1995. Her public service record is sterling. But in 2019, Räsänen voiced her support for the biblical model of marriage and human sexuality and shared a verse from the Bible on Twitter. This sparked a police investigation that stretched on for years and culminated in the Finnish Prosecutor General bringing three criminal charges against her. In 2022, Räsänen was acquitted of all ‘hate speech’ charges by the Helsinki District Court, but the General Prosecutor intends to appeal, which will drag Räsänen through more months—maybe years—of court hearings, and the looming threat of a criminal record.
The time lost; the expense; the fear and the stress on family, friends, career, community; the ever-present specter of massive fines or even jail time; the simple reality that voicing an unpopular opinion could lead to all this has a chilling effect on free speech.
That chilling effect is spreading beyond Europe, as Christian Cortez Pérez, a student at the Autonomous University of Baja California in Mexico, discovered earlier this year. Graduating top in his class, Christian earned the right to deliver the address at his graduation ceremony. He spoke about the state of the world today and shared his own convictions on the importance of upholding the family and the sanctity of life. After the address sparked criticism from students and professors, his university launched proceedings to consider revoking Christian’s degree and banning him from practicing psychology.
What could Christian have said to merit this kind of treatment? For one thing, he quoted G.K. Chesterton, urging his peers to think carefully about the role of the family in society, saying, “People do not know what they are doing; because they do not know what they are undoing,” and he urged people to live in solidarity, exhorting them, “You have to love. No one seeks the good of the other if he does not love him.” Because of his speech, faculty at his university tried to have his academic merit award withdrawn, his professional license withheld, and even threatened to make it impossible for him to work. Christian, like Päivi, is speaking out against this injustice. With the help of ADF International, Christian asked the university to uphold his right to free speech, and in September, he won; the University refused to withdraw his degree and said that the criticisms of his address were “unfounded.”
When people like Päivi, Christian, Harry, and Caroline stand up against the bullying, it sends a message across the world that freedom of speech is a fundamental human right. No government or official can take it away; no police force should be allowed to threaten or arrest someone because of their beliefs. When someone faces criminal charges for voicing their beliefs, everyone—whether they agree or not—should pay attention, because the reality is that if the government can threaten and punish Caroline or Päivi for their convictions, they can punish anyone.
The Politicization of the Police
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Last week, Caroline Farrow, a Catholic mother of five and UK director of CitizenGo, was arrested in her home for allegedly committing ‘malicious communications’ online (she strenuously denies these allegations).
Farrow’s account of the arrest—supported by cell phone photos and statements—details heavy-handed police forcing their way into her home, seizing her electronic devices, searching her, and whisking her away in a police car, all in front of her children and without a search warrant. This account is shocking, but by no means unique.
In 2019, Farrow endured a five-month-long police investigation after she ‘misgendered’ someone on Twitter. The investigation tied up police resources for months, subjected Farrow to hours’-long police interviews, and kept her in constant suspense over whether she would be charged—an experience that would discourage many people from voicing their beliefs. The police eventually dropped the case, but the message was loud and clear to Farrow and other citizens who share her beliefs: fall in line, or face the consequences.
That same year, former police officer Harry Miller was investigated by police for allegedly tweeting transphobic comments. Though no crime had been committed, Miller recalls the police officer stating “he needed to check my thinking.” The police recorded Miller’s actions as a ‘non-crime hate incident’—something he successfully overturned only after a lengthy court battle. And just a few months ago, Hampshire police arrested an army veteran for “causing anxiety” by retweeting a meme critical of Pride Month.
What seemed unthinkable just a decade ago is coming true across the West, as politicized police forces use grueling investigations and arrests to scare people into silence. All too often, it works; but every now and again a courageous citizen speaks up, and pushes the battle for freedom out of the shadows and into the open.
That’s what Päivi Räsänen did. Räsänen has served as a member of the Finnish Parliament since 1995. Her public service record is sterling. But in 2019, Räsänen voiced her support for the biblical model of marriage and human sexuality and shared a verse from the Bible on Twitter. This sparked a police investigation that stretched on for years and culminated in the Finnish Prosecutor General bringing three criminal charges against her. In 2022, Räsänen was acquitted of all ‘hate speech’ charges by the Helsinki District Court, but the General Prosecutor intends to appeal, which will drag Räsänen through more months—maybe years—of court hearings, and the looming threat of a criminal record.
The time lost; the expense; the fear and the stress on family, friends, career, community; the ever-present specter of massive fines or even jail time; the simple reality that voicing an unpopular opinion could lead to all this has a chilling effect on free speech.
That chilling effect is spreading beyond Europe, as Christian Cortez Pérez, a student at the Autonomous University of Baja California in Mexico, discovered earlier this year. Graduating top in his class, Christian earned the right to deliver the address at his graduation ceremony. He spoke about the state of the world today and shared his own convictions on the importance of upholding the family and the sanctity of life. After the address sparked criticism from students and professors, his university launched proceedings to consider revoking Christian’s degree and banning him from practicing psychology.
What could Christian have said to merit this kind of treatment? For one thing, he quoted G.K. Chesterton, urging his peers to think carefully about the role of the family in society, saying, “People do not know what they are doing; because they do not know what they are undoing,” and he urged people to live in solidarity, exhorting them, “You have to love. No one seeks the good of the other if he does not love him.” Because of his speech, faculty at his university tried to have his academic merit award withdrawn, his professional license withheld, and even threatened to make it impossible for him to work. Christian, like Päivi, is speaking out against this injustice. With the help of ADF International, Christian asked the university to uphold his right to free speech, and in September, he won; the University refused to withdraw his degree and said that the criticisms of his address were “unfounded.”
When people like Päivi, Christian, Harry, and Caroline stand up against the bullying, it sends a message across the world that freedom of speech is a fundamental human right. No government or official can take it away; no police force should be allowed to threaten or arrest someone because of their beliefs. When someone faces criminal charges for voicing their beliefs, everyone—whether they agree or not—should pay attention, because the reality is that if the government can threaten and punish Caroline or Päivi for their convictions, they can punish anyone.
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