A 61-year-old British man is sentenced to 18 months in prison for chanting “Who the fuck is Allah?” and telling police officers “you’re not English anymore” during an anti-Muslim immigration protest outside Downing Street.

ZeroHedge (h/t Nita) The sentence handed out to David Spring is the latest shocking example of how low the bar has now been set in terms of free speech in response to rioting that occurred after the murder of three girls in Southport last month.

Spring attended a demonstration of around 700 people in London on July 31 which turned disorderly. Police bodycam footage that was played in court showed Spring calling police officers “cunts,” making “hostile gestures” and joining in with chants of “who the fuck is Allah” and “you’re not English anymore.”

In the UK there are already de facto blasphemy laws. But under pressure from the Islamic lobby, which is growing in power, an incoming Labour government contemplates introducing legislation which would irreversibly damage freedom of speech and stifle any ability to criticize… pic.twitter.com/46qbwvbgTP

— Ayaan Hirsi Ali (@Ayaan) July 3, 2024

While Spring’s behavior could be described as offensive and unruly, the fact that he will spent the next year and a half behind bars for saying mean words exemplifies how the UK has slipped into extreme authoritarianism in the space of just two weeks.

When he was arrested, Spring told police, “I didn’t go up to London to riot. I went to complain about people put up in hotels,” referring to Muslim illegal immigrants staying in hotels at taxpayer expense. The man’s wife, who suffers from ill health, will now be deprived of her primary carer thanks to Spring’s imprisonment.

Despite the fact that the legislation surrounding hate speech and incitement is more draconian in the UK than in numerous other major western countries, one would think a good free speech lawyer would be able to defend these people more adeptly.

As we highlighted yesterday, Spring’s sentence is only outdone in its absurdity by cases where online speech of people who never even attended riots is leading to prison sentences.

Another man was imprisoned for 2 months merely for posting the words “coming to a town near you” alongside images of Muslim men on Facebook.

NCF Founder & Director Peter Whittle addresses the recent video of Labour Leader Kier Starmer and Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan discussing so-called “Islamophobia.”

Best comment on this: @jumblestiltskin1365 This goes far beyond any issue with Free Speech. The wording, being so vague and including the word “perceived” means that almost any issue surrounding a muslim person (say at work, socially etc) and their wishes can now be obfuscated by using this blasphemy law….the word “perceived” is the key here, even if the perception is later proved as incorrect, the process of having to defend yourself against it will be too much for most ordinary people. This a creeping evil.