A 66-year-old pastor in England says police handcuffed him mid-sermon, hauled him into custody for twelve hours, and left him facing a hate-speech investigation, all for preaching the gospel on a public sidewalk and calling Islam a false religion. Hertfordshire Police tell a different story, citing suspicion of assault and a public order offense. But the assault allegation has already been dropped, and the pastor is still waiting to learn whether the British state will prosecute him for what he said.

Steve Maile, senior pastor of Oasis City Church in Watford, England, was arrested on April 18 while street preaching on a high street in the town just outside London. He had been singing and delivering a gospel message for roughly ten minutes when he turned to Islam's history of violence and called on Muslims to be saved by Jesus, Fox News Digital reported, citing an account from the Christian Legal Centre.

What happened next was captured on video first reported by Britannia Daily. Officers from the Hertfordshire Constabulary approached Maile, placed him in double handcuffs behind his back, and took him into custody. He was not warned, he said. He was not read his rights. He was simply seized.

Twelve hours in custody, then a dropped charge

Maile told Fox News Digital that police initially said he was under arrest for assaulting a teenager, a claim he flatly denied.

"I have not assaulted anyone. Take these off now! Take these off in the name of Jesus."

Video footage shows Maile continued preaching even while handcuffed. He said he remained in double cuffs for approximately ninety minutes, an experience he described as excruciating. He later needed wrist splints for three weeks.

He said he was detained for twelve hours without his phone and was not allowed to use the restroom. The assault allegation was later dropped, Maile said. But he was released on bail while an investigation into an alleged public order offense continues.

Hertfordshire Police confirmed to Fox News Digital that "a man aged in his 60s was arrested on suspicion of assault and a Section 5 public order offense (racially or religiously aggravated disorderly behavior)." The force added that "the conduct of the officers was reviewed and it was deemed no further action was necessary."

In other words, the police cleared themselves.

What Section 5 actually means

Under U.K. law, a person can be found guilty of a Section 5 offense under the Public Order Act if they use threatening or abusive words likely to cause "harassment, alarm, or distress" within the hearing of others nearby. Police in Britain are empowered to arrest individuals on that basis alone, no physical act required.

Maile sees the charge for what it is. He told Fox News plainly:

"It's called inciting religious hatred, which is false."

He said he could face months or even years of imprisonment, and that it could take up to a year before his case is heard by a judge. He remains under investigation while on bail, taking legal advice from the Christian Legal Centre.

The facts known so far raise a hard question: what specific words did Maile use that allegedly crossed the line from protected speech into criminal conduct? Neither the police statement nor the available reporting identifies the precise language at issue. That gap matters. A country that arrests a preacher but cannot publicly specify the offending words is a country with a speech problem, not a crime problem.

A preacher's record, and his defiance

Maile is not a provocateur fresh off social media. He has preached and performed mission work around the world for forty-five years. He leads a church in the same town where he was arrested. His message, as he described it, is not complicated.

"I don't preach hate. I don't preach violence. I preach the love of God, the mercy of God and the goodness of God in Christ Jesus."

He added that salvation is universal and exclusive at the same time, open to everyone, available only through the cross.

"Everybody needs to come by the way of the cross... And nobody gets a free pass."

That theology is as old as Christianity itself. It is also, apparently, enough to get a man arrested on a British sidewalk in 2026. Maile is not backing down. He told Fox News Digital he intends to fight the investigation.

"They chose the wrong man because I'm not going to capitulate."

The case echoes a broader pattern of law enforcement actions against people of faith that have drawn attention on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United States, cases involving violence against pastors have provoked outrage and raised questions about how the justice system treats religious figures, though the British context involves the state itself as the aggressor, not a private criminal.

The Christian Legal Centre responds

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, called the arrest "deeply troubling." Her organization is now supporting Maile's case.

"A peaceful, Christian preacher was treated like a serious criminal for expressing his Christian beliefs and that Islam is a false religion in a public place."

Williams went further, pointing to the video evidence and what it implies about the direction of British policing.

"The footage raises fundamental questions about whether policing in this country is now criminalizing Christianity while failing to apply the law equally and consistently."

That charge, unequal enforcement, is the sharpest one on the table. Section 5 is broad enough to sweep in almost any public religious speech that someone, somewhere finds distressing. The question is whether British police apply it with the same vigor when the speaker belongs to a different faith, or when the target of criticism is Christianity rather than Islam.

A system that polices words, not threats

The broader backdrop is not reassuring. Fox News senior foreign affairs correspondent Greg Palkot has reported on the U.K. Home Office's recent decision to stop policing certain social media posts and refocus on tackling "real" crime. That shift suggests even British officials recognize that speech policing has consumed resources better spent elsewhere.

Yet on the streets of Watford, a pastor with forty-five years of ministry behind him was handcuffed within seconds, held for half a day, and left with injured wrists and an open criminal investigation, for preaching a message that billions of Christians around the world share.

Maile described the moment of arrest in terms that should unsettle anyone who values religious liberty.

"Literally, in seconds, I mean, they didn't even talk to me or warn me or read me my rights."

He also described the physical toll.

"I was double handcuffed. In excruciating pain because these double handcuffs are pretty horrendous things. I was literally in shock. I thought, goodness, what have I done? What's going on?"

The answer, as far as the available facts show, is that he preached the Bible on a public street and said something about Islam that someone did not want to hear. For that, the machinery of the state moved against him faster than it moves against most actual criminals.

What remains unanswered

Several questions remain open. Police have not disclosed the nature of the complaint that triggered the arrest. They have not specified which of Maile's words allegedly constituted the public order offense. It is unclear whether Maile has been formally charged or remains only under investigation while on bail. No court date has been set.

Maile said the cross of Christ carries a message of hope, love, mercy, and reconciliation. Then he asked the question the British government will eventually have to answer.

"The cross of Christ is a message of hope, love, mercy, and reconciliation to a fallen world... How could that be hate?"

For now, Maile says he has all the reassurance he needs.

"I've got great news. God is on my side."

A country that can arrest a pastor for preaching but cannot tell him exactly what he said wrong is not protecting public order. It is enforcing silence.