Comedian Arrested at Heathrow Airport Over Social Media Posts

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.

Linehan released on his Substack blog an audio recording of his arrest, in which a police officer can be heard telling him of allegations that on April 19, 2025, he “published a post on X intended to instill hatred and incite violence.”

Linehan has been an outspoken critic of transgender ideology, which he sees as encroaching on women’s, children’s, and gay rights, and has seen his shows canceled over his views.

Writing in his Substack, he said that the moment he stepped off the plane at Heathrow, “five armed police officers were waiting.”

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.”

The Free Speech Union wrote on X that it is suing the Metropolitan Police for what it said was Linehan’s “wrongful arrest and false imprisonment, as well as breaches of his free speech rights.”

British Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who is part of the Labour government, told the BBC that ministers need to review the laws concerning online speech, following the arrest of Linehan.

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.”

New Green Party leader Zack Polanski told BBC’s “Newsnight” that he believed that Linehan’s posts were “totally unacceptable” and that the arrest seemed “proportionate.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wrote on X that he will raise the Linehan case when he gives evidence to the House Judiciary Committee in the United States on free speech on Sept. 3.

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.”

The Metropolitan Police declined to comment on the matter of a potential claim, saying that doing so would be inappropriate.