A Gospel preacher has spoken out after he was threatened to be "put in a cell overnight" and "arrested" for singing hymns with his Christian choir.
Dwayne Lopez had been singing with a church choir on Uxbridge High Street in West London when he was slammed with accusations from police that he could have been guilty of a "hate crime" while addressing members of the public.
He told GB News: "They said that a member of the public called them saying that I had been displaying homophobic behavior, which was absolutely not the case.
"When I questioned the police officer about this, he said that he's not met the victim, but he's heard that they have said this. So he demanded my details and demanded information from me. I began to question him politely again and he got more aggressive. He threatened to arrest me and keep me in a cell overnight."
Dwayne Lopez was told he "could be thrown in the back of a police van" for preaching his religion
GB News
Lopez added: " I just feel that we as Christians are given a mandate from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to go out into the world and to preach the gospel. This is a Christian country.
"We're well within our rights. When The King got ordained, they used the Bible.
"This is the Bible I'm using to present a message of love, the gospel, to every person. And therefore, we need to be reminded that this is a Christian country and we should be treated with dignity and respect."
Recalling the day he explained: "There were three of us from the Church there. We were all preaching from the Bible.
The footage was caught on camera
@contagiousChristian./GB News
"Even the public around us asked them what are you doing? We want them to preach. They were celebrating us, applauding us because we've got a good reputation in the community and many people were coming to our support.
"I was very polite and very respectful. They tried to trigger me. They tried to threaten me. They told me that I was going to be put in a police van. They tried to bully us into submission to them.
"But I just wanted to know why they were asking for these details before I gave them over? And they won't have any of that.
Lopez explained that he wants "everyone to know that they are well within their rights to preach" and the Christian community "will not be silenced."
He said: "When it comes to other groups they're allowed to express their religion loud and clear.
"When a Christian comes on the street and begins to present the gospel, there's a problem.
He claimed that Christians "will not be silenced"
GB News
"The football fans are not ashamed to lift up their football teams.
"The homosexuals are not ashamed to go on marches. Different groups are not ashamed to march on London Bridge and shout out and scream.
"But when the Christian community comes on the street and presents the gospel, then the police come in like a flood.
"Five of them and a van, like the silence of history."