A defiant republican says he may protest at King Charles III’s coronation after being arrested for shouting ‘who elected him?’
Four police officers took Symon Hill, 45, away on suspicion of a public order offence following his objection at an accession proclamation in Carfax, Oxford on Sunday.
He was later de-arrested after refusing to be interviewed without a lawyer – and warns the incident will not deter him from his right to free speech.
In future, he plans to demonstrate peacefully against the institution of the monarchy, but will not personally attack any individual member of the Royal Family or disrupt tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
‘I’ll continue to say that Charles is not the King, and that I don’t recognise him. Whether I’ll be involved in an organised protest, I don’t know,’ he said.
‘I’m not actively organising one, but that isn’t to say I wouldn’t join in if there was something happening.
‘I will probably protest at the coronation when it happens. It will be non-violent and directed at the institution rather than personal insults at individuals.’
It comes as a woman is charged after ‘holding an abolish the monarchy’ sign in a separate incident in Edinburgh.
The Metropolitan Police has also come under fire after a barrister who held up a blank piece of paper near the Houses of Parliament was told he risked being arrested if he wrote ‘not my King’ on it.
Symon, who works part-time at the Peace Pledge Union, stumbled across the accession reading in Oxford and had not planned to demonstrate.
He waited until the section of the reading relating to Her Majesty had passed, as interrupting ‘an act of mourning is not something I would ever do’.
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He continued: ‘But then when it came to the proclamation of Charles as King… as a 21st century citizen I had a problem with this idea that we would just be told who our rightful lord was. So at that point, I called out “Who elected him?”
‘A couple of people told me to shut up, which was fair enough, and I responded that I thought a head of state was being imposed without consent.’
As news of more protesters being threatened with arrest emerges, Symon says he is concerned this will stop people from expressing opinions.
‘I think some people ignored me, some people sort of glanced at me, nobody was distressed by it, and actually, I think most people could cope with hearing somebody express an opinion they disagree with’, he said.
‘I think that’s very different to hate speech – stirring up hatred against somebody or encouraging violence is obviously abhorrent, but being able to hear an opinion we disagree with should be the norm in a democratic society.
‘I find it hard to believe that anyone felt actually distressed by hearing my comment.’
Thames Valley Police said: ‘A 45-year-old man was arrested in connection with a disturbance that was caused during the county proclamation ceremony of King Charles III in Oxford.
‘He has subsequently been de-arrested and is engaging with us voluntarily as we investigate a public order offence.’
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