Comedian Graham Linehan, one of Britain’s most successful sitcom writers and co-creator of “Father Ted,” was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Sept. 2 on suspicion of inciting violence in relation to posts he made on X.
The Irish comedian was flying in from Arizona, where he has been since December 2024.
“Not one, not two—five. They escorted me to a private area and told me I was under arrest for three tweets,” he said.
He shared screenshots of the posts he said he was arrested for, including one in which he called it a “violent, abusive act” for a trans-identified male to be in a female-only space, and also read, “make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails punch him in the [expletive].”
The second post he shared was a shot from a pro-transgender protest, which he described as “a photo you can smell.”
The third tweet he shared, a follow-up to the photo, read: “I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes.”
He said that at a police station at Heathrow, his belt, bag, and devices were confiscated.
“Then I was shown into a small green-tiled cell with a bunk, a silver toilet in the corner, and a message from Crimestoppers on the ceiling next to a concave mirror that was presumably there to make you reflect on your life choices,” he said.
He said that his single bail condition was “not to go on Twitter.”
Linehan wrote the post from the hospital after a nurse found his blood pressure had spiked to 200, putting him in “stroke territory,” he said.
“The stress of being arrested for jokes was literally threatening my life,” he said.
Linehan is facing a separate charge of harassment on Sept. 4 and Sept. 5 at the London Westminster Magistrates Court.
The arrest ignited criticism from free speech campaigners and triggered political debate across the spectrum on Sept. 3.
The organization Fair Cop, which campaigns against what it calls “ideological policing“ in the UK, told The Epoch Times by email that it remains ”very concerned that this level of unlawful police overreach is further evidence that the police have lost sight of their obligations to be politically impartial and treat all without fear or favor.”
He said that such laws had put “more expectation on police” and “diluted the focus and priorities of the public,” adding “that’s obviously something we need to look at.”
Scottish comedian and GB News host Leo Kearse, who has also performed for Comedy Unleashed, told The Epoch Times by email that Linehan’s situation was “absolutely insane” and that Linehan “hasn’t said anything remotely criminal.”
“It’s like a plot from one of Graham’s comedies,” he said.
“In the Soviet Union, they had laws so vaguely worded and so open to interpretation that anyone could feasibly have broken them.”
