Leeds street preacher who referred to transgender woman as a man during Briggate sermon has conviction quashed

Farrah Munir, 19, told Leeds Crown Court today how she was left “emotionally distraught” by David McConnell as he preached on Briggate, in the centre of Leeds, on June 8, 2021.

Evangelical Christian McConnell, from Wakefield, was convicted of causing harassment, alarm or distress to Ms Munir at Leeds Magistrates’ Court last year and sentenced to a 12-month community order with 80 hours unpaid work.

Recorder Anthony Hawks, sitting with two magistrates, allowed the preacher’s appeal against conviction.

Mr Hawks accepted McConnell’s words had been insulting and that Ms Munir had suffered “harassment, alarm and distress”, but said there was no evidence the appellant had intended to harass her.

The court was shown video footage from McConnell’s body-worn camera of Ms Munir approaching him as he spoke to a small crowd and asking him: “Does God accept the LBGT community?”

As the 42-year-old preacher responds to the crowd, he repeatedly refers to her, saying “this is a man” and “this gentleman”. He also says she is a “man dressed in woman’s clothes”.

In the video, McConnell can also be heard to say: “Homosexuality is an abomination in the eyes of God” and “the Bible says that lesbianism is an unnatural and vile passion”.

Asked how she felt about this, Ms Munir told the appeal hearing: “Upset. Emotionally distraught, as this had never happened to me before.”

In the witness box, McConnell said: “In my view, I wasn’t misgendering and I was gendering correctly.”

He told the court: “I think people could have been offended but that’s not the intention. My intention was to simply stay faithful to my beliefs, stay faithful to God and to stay faithful to my conscience.”

He said: “I wasn’t being transphobic; I was expressing what I believe.”

Shown the video footage again, McConnell said: “I knew the person in front of me was a biological male and, therefore, I stayed true to God and true to my beliefs.”

McConnell told the judge that he had been street preaching about once a week for around 15 years.

Following the hearing, Mr McConnell said he was “delighted and relieved”, and added: “I am, however, appalled at how I have been treated by the authorities in this matter.

“No other street preacher, professional or member of the public must go through what I have.

“Misgendering is not a crime and should never be treated as such.”

He added: “How I was treated was totally unreasonable and should concern anyone who cares about Christian freedoms and free speech in this country.”

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre – who backed McConnell’s case, said: “Dave McConnell has been vindicated and we are pleased that the judge has seen sense. No-one should go through what he has for stating biological fact.

“This case has represented a disturbing trend in our society which is seeing members of the public and professionals being prosecuted and reported as potential terrorists for refusing to celebrate and approve LGBTQ ideology.”