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President Donald Trump’s US State Department says it is “disappointed” after pro-life activist Livia Tossici-Bolt was convicted last Friday for breaching a “buffer zone”. The US Department added that “freedom of expression must be protected for all”.
Ms Tossici-Bolt, 64, was found guilty on 4 April for standing near an abortion facility in Bournemouth with a sign that read, “Here to talk, if you want to”, breaching a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), also known as a “buffer zone”.
The pro-life activist was given a two-year conditional discharge and a £20,000 fine.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labour (DRL) posted the following on X after the verdict:
The DRL of the US Department of State had been “monitoring” the Tossici-Bolt case, and had emphasised that “it is important that the UK respect and protect freedom of expression”. It was also reported that a trade deal with the US was threatened if the UK continued to violate pro-life free speech.
Before the verdict, Ms Tossici-Bolt met with US officials and thanked the State Department for “prioritising the preservation and promotion of freedom of expression and for engaging in robust diplomacy to that end”.
“I was amazed they were listening to me”, Ms Tossici-Bolt said. “They were very sympathetic, very helpful and supportive – so much so that we are at this point. I wasn’t expecting this. It’s been surreal.”
Following the verdict, a Number 10 Downing Street spokesman said that “sentencing decisions are a matter for the courts”, adding that the UK has “a very proud tradition of free speech over many centuries, and we remain proud of it today”.
US officials also met with pro-lifer activist Isabel Vaughan-Spruce who, having already been wrongfully arrested twice for praying silently, lodged a formal complaint against the police, which recently said that her “mere presence” near an abortion facility was potentially criminal.
The threat against free speech became an international topic of debate in February when US Vice-President JD Vance called out UK buffer zones during a speech at the Munich Security Conference.
Citing the case of Adam Smith-Connor, who was found guilty of praying in silence for his dead son near an abortion facility, Vance said: “I wish I could say that this was a fluke, a one-off, crazy example of a badly written law being enacted against a single person”, Vance said. “But no… The backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular, in the crosshairs.”
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