Oxford anti-monarchy protester paid compensation by police
Mr Hill, who was a teacher in adult education at the time but has since taken up training to be a Baptist minister, said the past two-and-a-half years had been "bizarre".Describing himself as "anti-monarchy", he said: "To me, my objection to monarchy is rooted in my belief in the equal value of all human beings, it's connected to my Christian faith."It's about wanting to treat other people as equals, and for them to treat me as an equal."Mr Hill, now living in Coventry, said while he had received hundreds of supportive messages from strangers in the aftermath of his arrest, he had also been subject to abusive comments and death threats.
He had been charged with using threatening or abusive words or disorderly behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.The Crown Prosecution Service later dropped the case as it "did not meet our legal test for a prosecution".Having challenged his arrest with the help of human rights organisation Liberty, Mr Hill last month settled a claim with Thames Valley Police.A Home Office spokesperson said: "The right to protest is fundamental to our democracy, and it is a long-standing tradition in this country that people are free to demonstrate their views, provided that they do so within the law."
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