A blogger from northern England was arrested on Thursday night over a post he made on X condemning the Hamas terrorist organization and Islam, according to British media reports.
Pete North, 47, was arrested over the meme on suspicion of committing a public order offence.
The Yorkshire-based writer was interviewed by police and later released without charge, though the arrest has been widely condemned online.
The meme, featuring text over a Palestinian flag, read “F*** Palestine F*** Hamas F*** Islam… Want to protest? F*** off to a Muslim country & protest.”
North accused police of trying to “terrorize” the public into falling in line with politically correct culture online.
“I feel quite strongly that what political cartoons and memes I post on social media is none of the police’s business,” he told The Telegraph.
North explained that the police who interviewed him in Harrogate were ignorant on the conflict and on Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organization in the United Kingdom.
He recounted how “The officer in the interview said, ‘Well, firstly, let’s start with the meme. You posted a meme that said, f*** Hamas’.
“I said, ‘yeah, I did post a meme that said, f***Hamas, because Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation internationally, including in Britain. Just so we’re on the same page, you do know who Hamas are?’ And he just looked gormlessly and shook his head."
“‘And so you don’t know anything about Oct 7?’ And I briefly explained to him what happened at the Nova music festival. He was totally oblivious. If you’re going to arrest people for memes you probably need to pay more attention to current affairs," he added.
Free speech in the UK
Lord Young of Acton, secretary general of the Free Speech Union (FSU), said: “The police arrest over 30 people a day for ‘offensive’ social media posts and fewer than one in 20 end up being prosecuted."
“Pete North is a member of the Free Speech Union, something he’s made the police aware of, so I’d be surprised if he’s charged," he concluded.
A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: “Following receipt of a report, a man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of publishing or distributing written material intended to stir up racial hatred. He has been released on bail while inquiries continue.”