Street preacher, 71, arrested for ‘distressing’ public with ‘homophobic’ rants
Pastor John Sherwood was arrested after complaints from members of the public over his “homophobic comments”. (YouTube/ Pastor John Sherwood Arrest)
An elderly pastor was arrested on the streets of London for making “homophobic comments” and telling passers-by that same-sex couples were against “God’s created order”.
Pastor John Sherwood and Pastor Peter Simpson were preaching outside Uxbridge tube station in West London on Friday (23 April).
In an article for the Conservative Woman, a publication which decries “BLM brainwashing”, the “tragedy of transgenderism” and “the degrading spectacle of Cardi B’s nether regions“, Simpson said that he “began the preaching and referred to the grave abandonment by our nation of its Christian foundations, an abandonment which has manifested itself in, for example, the redefinition of marriage”.
Same-sex marriage, he said, was “an assault upon the Biblical revelation, which tells us that marriage can be only between one man and one woman”.
Sherwood, 71, then took over and began “expounding the final verses of Genesis 1”.
He told passers-by that families must be “headed by a father and a mother”, and that “the distinction within mankind of just two genders, male and female, made in the image of God, constitutes the essence of God’s created order”.
Police soon arrived on the scene, have received complaints about “homophobic comments” made by the pastor that were causing “distress” to members of the public.
Officers were caught on video asking him to stop preaching against LGBT+ people, which he refused to do. Sherwood was then told he was under arrest and was asked to come down from his step stool, which he also refused to do.
Eventually police took the man’s hands and guided him down, after which he tried to break free, before finally being put in handcuffs.
Simpson declared in his op-ed that Sherwood’s arrest was proof that there was “a great need to raise awareness of how the police in modern Britain are clamping down on the freedom of Christians to proclaim in public places the teachings of the scriptures”.
The Met Police told the Daily Mail in a statement: “At 1.35pm on Friday, 23 April, officers on patrol were flagged down by a member of the public who made them aware of a man allegedly making homophobic comments close to Uxbridge Underground Station.
“A number of other people also approached the officers with concerns about the man’s language.
“Officers spoke with the 71-year-old man and he was subsequently arrested on suspicion of an offence under Section 5 of the Public Order Act.”
Sherwood was released the next day “under investigation”.
