A pastor accused of slamming an immigrant into the ground while out street preaching has been found guilty of assault and handed a three-year suspended sentence.
Pastor Colin Houston, 61, of Belfast, appeared before the Belfast Magistrates Court last week, where he was facing charges of assault, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.
Houston claims that Saied Nemeti, who has previously harassed him, approached him and started heckling him, particularly on account of his red MAGA hat, and called him a “racist c—” and spit on his Jesus flag.
During the proceedings, footage was shown of both men in a heated exchange before Houston put him in a headlock and took him to the ground, holding him there until police arrived.
Nemeti denies calling him a “racist c—” but admitted that he called him a “crazy man” and said he “tortures the public” with his street preaching.
According to the Belfast Telegraph
The prosecutor quizzed Houston on what he had been saying to cause the injured party to engage.
“Did you tell him to go back to his own country?” they asked.
The defendant replied “no”, and when asked if he “preaches racial hatred?” he pointed out that he works closely with two black women.
A tense back and forth followed as the defendant disputed the prosecutor’s observation that Mr Nemeti had initially walked away, and the defendant took issue with a reference to his MAGA (Make America Great Again) cap.
It prompted District Judge Marshall to ask if “it’s more of a political hat than a religious hat?”
“Was Jesus not political?” the preacher responded.
The prosecutor put it to the accused that “the MAGA hat is known throughout the world” as something that “is going to annoy people”, prompting another rebuttal.
“In your opinion because you are a liberal,” Houston said.
Houston was sentenced to five months in prison with his sentence suspended for three years.
