Trump admin. monitoring prosecution of UK pastor for preaching John 3:16
The U.S. government is monitoring the prosecution of a 77-year-old Northern Ireland pastor, Clive Johnston, who was charged under British buffer zone legislation for preaching an open-air sermon on John 3:16 near a hospital that provides abortion services.
Johnston, a retired pastor from Strabane who once served as president of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, is on trial at Coleraine magistrates’ court on two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act, according to The Telegraph.
A second day of hearings is set for Wednesday. If convicted, the grandfather of seven faces a criminal record and a fine of up to £2,500 (about $3,300). He has never been in trouble with the police, according to The Christian Institute, which is supporting him in the case.
The sermon was delivered on July 7, 2024, on a patch of grass separated from Coleraine’s Causeway Hospital by a dual carriageway. About a dozen people attended the service, which included hymn singing and a wooden cross.
Johnston preached on John 3:16, which reads, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
Court papers do not allege that Johnston mentioned abortion during the sermon, and no abortion placards or banners were present. He is accused of seeking to influence people accessing the hospital’s abortion services and of failing to leave the area when asked by police. He is not accused of impeding or harassing anyone.
The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act was introduced in 2022 by the Green Party and created eight buffer zones of 100 to 150 meters around hospitals and abortion clinics in Northern Ireland. Under the law, it is a criminal offense for people within the marked areas to be “impeded, recorded, influenced or to be caused harassment, alarm or distress.”
A State Department spokesman told the Telegraph that the U.S. was “still monitoring many buffer zone cases in the U.K., as well as other acts of censorship throughout Europe.”
“The U.K.’s persecution of silent prayer represents not only an egregious violation of the fundamental right to free speech and religious liberty, but also a concerning departure from the shared values that ought to underpin U.S.-U.K. relations,” the spokesman said.
The intervention is the latest instance of the Trump administration speaking out on British domestic affairs over freedom of expression.
In November 2025, U.S. officials were reported to be in the early stages of exploring political asylum for Britons prosecuted for speech offenses. At the 2025 Munich Security Conference, Vice President JD Vance named Adam Smith Connor, an anti-abortion activist convicted for breaching a buffer zone, saying that “free speech in Britain and across Europe is in retreat.”
In December, the White House warned that censorship of free expression in Europe was contributing to “civilizational erasure.” That same month, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce became the first person charged under Britain’s buffer zone legislation, and the U.S. called her prosecution an “unwelcome departure” from shared transatlantic values.
Simon Calvert, deputy director of the Christian Institute, said the case raised fundamental questions about religious liberty.
“Prosecuting Pastor Johnston for preaching ‘God so loved the world’ near a hospital on a quiet Sunday is a shocking new attempt to restrict freedom of religion and freedom of speech in a part of the world where open-air gospel services are a part of the culture,” Calvert said.
“Christians are pro-life. But preaching the good news about Christ is not the same thing as protesting against abortion. The police and the Public Prosecution Service are overstepping the mark,” he added.
Buffer zone laws in Northern Ireland took effect in September 2024, bringing the region into line with similar legislation in England, Wales and Scotland. Prosecutions under these laws have drawn severe criticism from religious liberty groups and free speech advocates on both sides of the Atlantic, with several cases involving silent prayer or religious observance rather than active protest.
