No, a Liverpool man was not arrested for waving a Union Jack at a pro-Palestinian protest

Context

A video showing a man being arrested during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Liverpool is circulating on social media.

Users shared the footage with the claim it shows ‌local police arresting the man for waving a Union Jack flag. These posts were shared with captions like: “British man arrested for waving BRITISH flag. Police in Liverpool arrested the man on Monday for flying his countries flag in front of a group of Pro-Palestinian protesters waving Palestinian flags.”

The video shows a man holding a Union Jack being arrested in front of a cafe and escorted to a police van. 

However, the man was arrested for shouting offensive language at protestors, not because he was waving a Union Jack.

In fact

On February 4, the Liverpool Friends of Palestine Group marched in support of Palestine at Liverpool city center. 

On February 7, ‌Liverpool’s Merseyside police responded to refute the claim that the man was arrested for waving a Union Flag on their X account, “We can confirm a man was arrested during a march in Liverpool city center on Sunday for shouting offensive language at protestors. There has been speculation on social media that he was arrested for flying Union Jack. This is incorrect.”

The Merseyside police’s statement on the incident as shared on their X account. (Source: X)

In their statement released the same day, the Merseyside police reaffirmed that the Union Jack was unrelated to the man’s arrest; instead, the man was arrested for shouting offensive language at the pro-Palestinian demonstrators, stating:

"We can confirm a 50-year-old man was arrested during a march, which took place in Liverpool city center on Sunday, February 4. Liverpool Friends of Palestine Group were marching through the city center, and as the procession reached the junction of Hanover Street and Church Street, a man shouted offensive language at the protestors...” 

“As a result of the abusive language, he was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offense and homophobic abuse,” the statement continued. 

The man was bailed pending further inquiries, according to Merseyside Police. 

Logically Facts has previously refuted a similar false claim that a man was arrested for waving a Union Jack in London at a pro-Palestinian rally in October 2023. 

The verdict

The man was not arrested for waving a Union Flag at a pro-Palestinian protest in Liverpool. Instead, he was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offense and homophobic abuse after shouting abusive language at the protestors, according to a statement by ‌Merseyside police. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.