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Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan said Monday he was no longer under police investigation after his September arrest over social media posts drew international attention.
The “Father Ted” creator, 57, shared the update on X.
“The police have informed my lawyers that I face no further action in respect of the arrest at Heathrow in September. After a successful hearing to get my bail conditions lifted (one which the police officer in charge of the case didn’t even bother to attend) the Crown Prosecution Service has dropped the case,” he announced.
Linehan was arrested Sept. 1 by five armed officers on suspicion of inciting violence with three posts on X that criticized transgender activists.
Graham Linehan leaves Westminster Magistrates Court on Sep. 4, 2025, in London, England. (Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images)
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One of the posts read, “If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch him in the balls.”
Linehan called his arrest “the latest attempt to silence and suppress gender-critical voices on behalf of dangerous and disturbed men.”
The case sparked outrage from “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, who has also criticized transgender activism, and from other public figures in the United Kingdom.
“What the f— has the U.K. become? This is totalitarianism. Utterly deplorable,” Rowling wrote at the time.
The Metropolitan Police issued a statement Monday confirming Linehan’s case had been dropped, according to Reuters.
“Father Ted” writer Graham Linehan was arrested in relation to social media posts criticizing trans ideology. (Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images; Krisztian Elek/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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The Met police also announced it would no longer investigate “non-crime hate incidents” as a result of the high-profile case.
“The Commissioner has been clear he doesn’t believe officers should be policing toxic culture war debates,” the Met said Monday, citing a previous comment by London police Commissioner Mark Rowley in response to criticism of Linehan’s arrest.
“We believe this will provide clearer direction for officers, reduce ambiguity and enable them to focus on matters that meet the threshold for criminal investigations,” the statement to Reuters read.
Non-crime hate incidents are defined as incidents, or alleged incidents which involve an act by a person which is perceived by another person as motivated by hostility or prejudice towards persons with a particular characteristic, according to the UK government.
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Linehan is an outspoken critic of gender ideology who has said he was canceled by the UK entertainment industry for his activism defending women’s rights.
He previously told Fox News Digital that he moved to the U.S. in part because of stronger legal protections for speech.
Graham Linehan poses with a placard reading “There’s no such thing as a transgender child” outside Westminster Magistrates Court on Sept. 4, 2025, in London, England. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
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He called the United Kingdom “no longer really a free country” and said, “People like me know we’re not going to get a fair hearing in the U.K.”
Fox News Digital has contacted the Metropolitan Police for comment.
Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
