The Christian Legal Centre has welcomed the acquittal of a Christian preacher who was accused of violating an LGBT “safe space” by distributing tracts about Sodom and Gomorrah.
Richard Johnson, 72, recounted how he handed out biblical tracts covering various subjects in Soho, most of which were irrelevant to homosexuality. In the incident last year, Johnson was eventually accosted by two men who told him to “get out of Soho”. He left the area, fearing for his safety.
Johnson was later prosecuted under the Public Order Act 1986 after two men complained about a tract referring to Sodom and Gomorrah. It is unclear if the two complainants were the same men who accosted him.
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Book of Genesis, tells of how God destroyed the two towns for their sin. As a demonstration of the sinful character of the town, the narrative tells of how all the men in Sodom gathered to try and commit homosexual rape against God’s angels.
One of the complainants argued that Soho was a “safe space” for LGBT people and that as such Johnson was not entitled to share such views as could be elsewhere.
A trial on 4 September saw Johnson acquitted. The court concluded that while the tract was offensive and upsetting, no criminal offence could be proved, and in particular no threats of violence were made against anyone. Soho was determined not to be a separate jurisdiction in which different laws apply. The court also granted a defence costs order.
Following his acquittal, Mr Johnson said: "After nearly two years of having this hanging over me, I am glad to be free. I do this because I really love LGBT people and I want them to go to heaven and not hell. Love is telling people the truth, even if people are offended by the message."
Johnson was supported by the Christian Legal Centre, whose Chief Executive, Andrea Williams welcomed the acquittal.
“Richard Johnson should never have endured nearly two years with a criminal prosecution hanging over him simply for peacefully distributing a Christian Gospel tract,” she said.
“The prosecution’s reliance on Soho being an LGBT ‘safe space’ was deeply troubling. No part of London can become a censorship zone in which lawful Christian beliefs are subjected to a different standard because some people find them offensive. Freedom of religion and freedom of expression belong to everyone, everywhere.”
