A street preacher who was arrested and put on trial for saying ‘Pray for the Jews and pray for the Palestinians’ to Muslims at a pro-Palestinian rally has been cleared of racial and religious harassment, making this the 16th similar case he’s been acquitted of.
After the most recent arrest, Shaun O’Sullivan, a pastor at ‘Awaken Church’ in Swindon, plead ‘not guilty’ to one count of religiously aggravated harassment and one count of racially aggravated harassment. His six-day trial that cost taxpayers around $25k. According to The Swindon Advertiser
It had been alleged that Shaun O’Sullivan…verbally assaulted three people based on an assumption they were Muslim and Palestinian on September 15, 2024 in Canal Walk.
At the hearing, Andy Pickett, prosecuting, said: “The motivation is, having identified their appearance, either demonstrating religion or race, the comments were then made.
The jury took less than 90 minutes (which includes their lunch break) to clear him of all charges.
Previously, he was arrested for “harassing” Muslims at a Palestinian demonstration by saying “God bless you to them,” sharing a video on TikTok where a female police officer confirms such words are criminal if it causes the hearer “distress.”
O’Sullivan pointed out that there’s a police officer on Facebook liking several comments where he’s being called a racist and homophobe
Feeling justifiably harassed for the continued arrests that he continually beats, O’Sullivan says he plans on suing the police:
The police have a vendetta against me – I’ve been told as much by individual officers who have said if someone complains about me I’ll be arrested.
I’m glad that the jury were able to see sense and almost immediately dismiss the nonsense that the police and prosecution said about me.
I’m not racist and I have no problem with people disagreeing with my religious views, but I do have a right to state them because we have freedom of speech in this country – even if it does offend people.
That’s why, despite Wiltshire Police arresting me 16 times, I have always been cleared.
One response to “Street Preacher Arrested for Telling Muslim protesters ‘God bless you’ Cleared of Hate Speech”
This case is yet another reminder that when a society loses its moral center, it begins policing emotions instead of actions. A pastor was arrested sixteen times—not for threats, not for incitement, but for saying “God bless you” and “Pray for the Jews and Palestinians.” That tells you everything you need to know about where the fault lines really are.
What’s striking is how quickly the jury saw through it. Ordinary people still recognize common sense even when institutions don’t. The police may bend under the weight of political pressure, but the public hasn’t entirely surrendered to irrationality.
This isn’t about harassment. It’s about a state apparatus increasingly uncomfortable with open Christian witness. Soft authoritarianism doesn’t always shout; sometimes it simply arrests the same man over and over again hoping he’ll get tired and go away.
He didn’t. And he was acquitted—again.
A society that cannot tolerate a simple blessing is a society deeply unsettled at the spiritual level. But as history shows, when the world grows brittle, the Church grows bold. And there is nothing more subversive to the powers of this age than a Christian who refuses to be silent.