UK man arrested for praying outside abortion clinic praises VP Vance for bringing attention to case
"I had no idea it was going to happen," Smith-Connor said Sunday on "Fox & Friends Weekend."
"I'm a physiotherapist. I was treating a patient. I just had a few minutes' gap between patients… and [I learned] the vice president of America was talking about [my] case, so it was incredibly surprising, and I'm very grateful to him for highlighting this case."
Smith-Connor was found guilty of breaching the local government's Public Spaces Protection Order in October, nearly two years after standing outside an abortion facility with his head bowed in silent prayer.
Vance Warns The Us Will Use Sanctions, Military Action If Putin Doesn't Agree To Ukraine Peace Deal: Report
He was ordered to pay £9,000 (approximately $11,330 USD) to his prosecutors as a result.
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Vance highlighted the case as he blasted 'Soviet'-style European censorship in an address to European leaders at the Munich Security Conference last Friday.
"The backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular, in the crosshairs," the vice president said.
"A little over two years ago, the British government charged Adam Smith-Connor, a 51-year-old physiotherapist and an Army veteran with the heinous crime of standing 50 meters from an abortion clinic and silently praying for three minutes, not obstructing anyone, not interacting with anyone, just silently praying on his own."
Hegseth Says He And Vance Are 'On The Same Page' Despite Vp's Remark On Us Troops In Ukraine
Lois McLatchie Miller, senior legal communications officer at Alliance Defending Freedom International, informed Smith-Connor of Vance's acknowledgment through a phone call.
She told "Fox & Friends Weekend" co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy that ADF International is supporting his legal defense as they seek to appeal the judgment later this year.
"This intervention from Vice President Vance highlighting the case really exposes that this is the worst example of censorship in the West right now. If we cannot think thoughts in our heads on certain British streets, we have no hope for freedom anywhere else."Original article source: UK man arrested for praying outside abortion clinic praises VP Vance for bringing attention to case
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The Hill
2 minutes ago
- The Hill
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2 minutes ago
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Newsweek
3 minutes ago
- Newsweek
JD Vance's UK Visit Sparks Protests, Egg Meme Posters
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At least 50 demonstrators gathered for a "Vance Not Welcome Party" in nearby Charlbury, where protesters displayed banners criticizing Vance and large images of a viral meme depicting the vice president with a shaved head. Social media posts show the same image displayed on a truck and as a large billboard. The image went viral after reports about a 21-year-old Norwegian tourist being refused access into the U.S. because he had the image on his phone. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has denied this allegation, saying the tourist, Mads Mikkelsen, was refused entry "for his admitted drug use." JD Vance said UK has no free speech….so this van is now cruising Cotswolds area waiting for his arrival where he's renting a $11K a week manor for another family vacation — Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) August 12, 2025 Activists in the UK installed a poster in the Cotswolds to greet JD Vance as he takes yet another family vacation — Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) August 12, 2025 Organizers representing groups including the Stop Trump Coalition and Everybody Hates Elon staged the event after moving the planned demonstration to a park in Charlbury, and some attendees carried signs referencing Gaza and U.S. domestic policies. Conversely, former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, a widely known British celebrity who lives in the Cotswolds, seemingly teased those complaining about Vance's disruption, when he posted a video of a peaceful Cotswold scene with the caption: "Utter chaos caused by Vance. How will we ever manage?" Vance met Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening House in Kent for talks that included a fishing outing. The BBC reported that lawmakers from the country's Conservative party, Robert Jenrick and Chris Philp, attended a private meeting with Vance at the Cotswolds residence, and that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also met the vice‑president during the trip. Reform UK is a right-wing populist party that has adopted MAGA-style slogans and rallies and has similar policy positions to the Trump administration on issues like immigration and national sovereignty What People Are Saying Brian Murray, 65‑year‑old retired tour guide, told Reuters: "We want to show our feelings, hopefully some of it will get through to Vance and the American press and to Ukraine, so people know what we stand for." Jonathan Mazower, Dean resident and head of communications for Survival International, told Reuters: "It's a massive intrusion and it's not just the fact our lives are disrupted but it's who he is." Vice President JD Vance, speaking at Chevening House, joked that the special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. had been put "under strain" when his children, managed to get a catch while fishing, unlike the foreign secretary. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: "A real pleasure to welcome my friend JD Vance and his family to Chevening. Before beginning our bilateral, the vice-president gave me fishing tips, Kentucky style." What Happens Next Vance planned a subsequent visit to Scotland later in the trip, a leg that local reporting said could involve a sizeable police operation, though the vice‑president was not expected to stay at former President Donald Trump's Turnberry resort, according to Sky News.
