We all know the U.K. has some very insane laws concerning speech and self-defense. Back at the beginning of September, comedian and screenwriter Graham Linehan was arrested by five armed police officers at London's Heathrow Airport for social media posts he made while in the United States. Linehan lives in the U.S. and has a temporary visa he's hoping will turn into a permanent green card one day, in part because of the U.K.'s draconian speech codes.
Thankfully, Linehan's case was later thrown out, likely because of the online backlash and Linehan's refusal to back down. But it's not the only time the U.K. authorities have used British law to punish people for things that happened on American soil.
Another Brit went on a trip to Florida, where he went to a firing range. He posted a pic holding a shotgun and was arrested when he returned home.
UK: A Brit posted photo of him holding a shotgun while on holiday in Florida, when he returned home UK police arrested him, seized his devices, jailed him overnight for violating the 1986 Public Order Act. The process was the punishment.
— @amuse (@amuse) November 29, 2025
After sharing a photo of himself posing… pic.twitter.com/jWdz3kxKtJ
Here's more (emphasis added):
A British IT consultant was arrested by West Yorkshire Police after posting pictures of himself posing with guns during an American holiday on LinkedIn.
Jon Richelieu-Booth, 50, shared the photograph taken at a Florida homestead on August 13.
The post sparked a 13-week ordeal, which began with a police warning at his residence.
Officers cautioned him about online content and its potential impact on others' feelings.
Despite Mr Richelieu-Booth’s offer to demonstrate the photograph's American origin, authorities chose to arrest him on August 24.
Despite all charges against him being withdrawn, police returned to his property after 10pm that evening and detained him.
Bail documentation revealed accusations of firearm possession intended to frighten and stalking charges concerning a property photograph on social media.
Following his initial release on bail until late October, police visited his home three additional times.
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"I've been put through 13 weeks of hell," Richelieu-Booth said. "When did we go from a society where you can have a discussion with somebody and go, 'You know what? I don't like your opinion. I'm going to disagree with you, but I'm not going to tell you why, I'm going to call the police.'"
He also asked, "When did we get so thin-skinned as a society?"
Police seized his electronic devices, which prevented Richelieu-Booth from doing his IT consulting work. Now the man plans to file legal actions against the West Yorkshire Police.
"I will be seeking quite a lot of damages," he said.
Americans should thank their lucky stars that we have robust First and Second Amendment protections, something U.K. citizens like Richelieu-Booth do not enjoy. But that doesn't mean we're immune to such Orwellian laws. During protests in the U.K. last year, police warned they would work to extradite Americans for offensive social media posts, and the nation's Online Safety Bill (OSB) could pose threats to Americans' free speech online.
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