By now, many of you have probably heard about the British subject (we are not really sure they should be called citizens anymore) who, after visiting the United States and enjoying the firearm freedoms many of us take for granted, faced unbelievable persecution by his own government for letting people know he enjoys sport shooting.
For those unfamiliar, John Richelieu-Booth, an IT consultant from England, vacationed earlier this year in the United States. While visiting friends in Florida, he enjoyed one of America’s oldest past times: recreational shooting. This was done on private property, and did not appear to violate any laws.
American laws, that is.
As many of you know, firearms are often vilified in Richelieu-Booth’s home country, and unless you are one of the landed gentry, recreational shooting on your own property is not something many Britons can readily or legally enjoy. So when John returned home after his vacation—and after having posted images of his shooting experience to LinkedIn—the Daily Mail reported he received a visit from British authorities in August.
The first visit from a police officer was to “warn him that concerns had been raised about his account.” While he said he could prove the photos were taken in America, he was told that was unnecessary.
But a week later, the cops were back, and he was arrested “on suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.” Richelieu-Booth was held overnight, then questioned, then released on bail with a return date set in October. He subsequently had his home visited by authorities three more times, then had the charges dropped.
Oh, and one other allegation against him during that time period was for stalking for, apparently, posting a picture of someone’s house.
This beleaguered Brit claimed he lost work during these troubles, as his phone and computers had been taken by the police. As an IT consultant, those are likely his most important professional tools.
But things did not improve, even after charges were dropped.
He was arrested again in October for an alleged bail violation; a charge that was later dropped.
Then he was charged again for a different post on social media under the guise of a “public order offence.” That charge was also dropped.
The final (we hope) injustice was a scheduled court appearance on November 25, where he was to face a charge of “causing alarm or distress.” That charge was, you guessed it, also dropped.
All of this harassment for having the audacity to enjoy the use of firearms in what appeared to be a safe, responsible, and legal fashion caught the attention of many, perhaps most notably the richest man in the world, Elon Musk.
Musk, commenting on a post to X that reported on the horrendous treatment of Richelieu-Booth, noted, “And this is why we have the first and second amendments in America.”
While most are aware of Musk’s bold actions in defense of free speech—he spent $44 billion to purchase Twitter (now X) because he was concerned about censorship on the platform—he has also spoken often about his support for the Second Amendment.
England, sadly, has spent decades adding restriction after restriction on the right to arms for its subjects. Now, that nation seems determined to also restrict free speech.
The experience of John Richelieu-Booth is just the latest in a long line of people persecuted for their social media posts. Some estimate that there are approximately 12,000 arrests each year in the UK for comments made online by Britons. Of course, many of these posts may actually fall under the controlling Public Order Act of 1986, which covers such things as the use or threat of unlawful violence as well as intentional harassment, alarm, or distress.
It should be noted, however, that actual prosecutions and convictions appear to be far fewer. This has led some groups dedicated to free speech to speculate the arrests may be an attempt by the British government to create a “chilling effect on expression.”
Fortunately, our Constitution specifically protects the rights of Americans to both keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment, as well as promote that right and display images of the lawful exercising of it under the First Amendment.
In England, however, the government seems determined to race headlong into an Orwellian nightmare of thought and speech police to go along with its already established regime of disarming the law-abiding. Perhaps the experience of Mr. Richelieu-Booth will help to act as a wake-up call for those British subjects who long for the days of freedom their cousins across the pond still enjoy.
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