After being arrested a second time in November for street-preaching, a 58-year-old Bristol pastor has been cleared of charges of “inciting religious hatred” after commenting about Islam and transgender ideology.
“This is a win for free speech, but I never should have been arrested, treated like a criminal, and investigated for months for peacefully sharing my faith in the public square,” says Dia Moodley, who has pastored Spirit of Life Reformed Baptist Church for more than a decade.
In an earlier incident in March 2025, Moodley was assaulted by Muslim men who bristled at his street preaching. When police arrived, they threatened to arrest Moodley over “public order offenses,” say his lawyers with Alliance Defending Freedom in U.K.
You read that right. Police wanted to arrest the victim of the assault.
Moodley has been hounded by the Avon and Somerset Police, who tried to forbid his sharing Christian beliefs — and notably, making comparisons to other religions — in early 2024. He was arrested later in the year after being assaulted, his lawyers say.
He remains undaunted.
“It isn’t for the state to decide which religions and ideologies must not be discussed or critiqued in public,” Moodley says. “When I preach, I am committed to speaking about the good news of Christianity in love, grace, and truth – but that doesn’t mean that I will never say something that others may disagree with. The nature of a free and democratic society is that we can speak publicly about our beliefs.”
This is what the United Kingdom has come to: coddling Muslims and cracking down on Christians. Free speech is being eroded.
Fox reported that for Easter, Moodley compared Jesus to other religious figures and said Jesus was the only one who rose from the dead. Video footage shared online appeared to show a Muslim bystander approaching Moodley and warning him, “If you do that again, bro, we’ll send the boys round. We’ll have someone have a word with you.”
ADF UK sounded off on the police harassment and the lack of protection against threats from hostile listeners.
“The pastor has faced repeated violence and threats from bystanders while street preaching, many of which the police have failed to adequately address,” ADF website says. “He is now considering legal action against Avon and Somerset Police, for the violation of his free speech rights and for the police’s failure to promptly investigate serious crimes against him.”
Related content: Irish preacher sentenced for preaching John 3:16, UK preacher Steve Maile arrested for offending Muslims with comparison to Jesus, a 17-year-old Christian classified as a terrorist in UK for expressing Christian faith. Sources: Fox, ADF UK, Billy Graham org, others.
