Overview
- Clive Johnston was found guilty at Coleraine Magistrates' Court on Thursday, and Judge Peter King fined the retired pastor £450 for two offences under the Safe Access Zones Act.
- Prosecutors said he acted within the Causeway Hospital buffer zone in July 2024 with the intent, or recklessness, of influencing people attending abortion services.
- Police body‑camera footage shown in court captured him using a microphone near a large cross while quoting Bible verses, which the judge said amounted to influencing within the zone.
- The court also found he refused a police direction to leave the zone, and the judge noted Johnston had set out to test the law before crossing its limits.
- Supporters, including The Christian Institute, criticized the ruling as a curb on religious freedom and said he is considering an appeal, highlighting tension between clinic access protections and claims of free expression under the 2023 law.