Hello Christian brothers and sisters.

Sincere apologies for not updating this page since the court hearing on the 9th February 2026 but I have been very busy since then

My name is Richard Johnson and I am being taken to court by the police and Crown Prosecution Service for handing out Chick Gospel Tracts in soho London a year ago on the 14th April 2025. I am seeking help with the funding of my Christian solicitor.

I am a bible believing Christian. I was born in London in 1953 and lived and worked much of my life in London. I was raised a nominal church of England but was unchurched and none of my family were Christian . A crisis in my early 50s lead me to cry out to God and Christ found me and He saved me.

From the age of 16 I worked in the Soho area as a trainee surveyor and commercial estate agent and also lived in the area on and off over the following years. I have an intimate knowledge of Soho and it's dark underbelly and it became natural for me to evangelize the area from the moment I was saved until today.

Soho is notorious throughout the UK for being a centre of sexual immorality and drunkenness in the country. Despite in recent years the area being "gentrified " , it remains a centre of bars, pubs and brothels and sex shops .

From the moment I was saved I became very evangelical, street preaching , handing out Gospel tracts, also going into prisons sharing the Gospel. This has remained with me to this day .

I have given out hundreds of thousands of tracts on the streets over the years and have used many different ones. I often use chick tracts because they are King James bible based and often humorous and people like cartoons as they are often too lazy to read written dialogue. The tracts have been the source of many interesting discussions I have had with people in Soho and elsewhere over the years . In the middle of April 2025, I was handing out tracts in Soho including the tract called "doom town" by Chick publications . The doom town Gospel tract is one that is aimed at the homosexual community and mostly is a recounting of the biblical narrative of the destruction of Sodom . I have given out chick tracts often in Soho and my homosexual experiences at boarding school as a boy make me empathetic with their lifestyle and a good introduction when sharing the Gospel. I often put my name and number on the tracts should someone want to ask questions.

In April 2025 I handed 2 Chick tracts called "doom town" to 2 men who were drinking outside a Gay bar in soho. For the first time in nearly 20 years of handing out tracts in Soho and around the world , these 2 men took exception to the tract and followed me down the street for several blocks, shouting at me.

A few weeks later on a Sunday , I was at church and my wife was at home sleeping as she is an a and e nurse who works night shifts. She was awakened by loud banging on the front door. She opened the door to find 3 police men wanting to come in and speak to me. She would not let them in and told the police that I was at church but would be back in the afternoon. I was summoned to a police station in the West end to which I went a few days later. At that time I was formally cautioned about having caused a public order offense due to complaints from two people who saw the tracts . I gave a statement and was told the matter would go to the CPS for them to decide whether I should be prosecuted. A few weeks later It was decided by the complainants the police and the CPS that I was to be prosecuted and the initial court hearing was to be held on Wednesday the 6th of July 2025. I was commanded to attend the police station again where I was bailed and my fingerprints taken and other biometric material recorded.

I retained the services of a very good Christian solicitor and plead not guilty at Westminster magistrates court on the 6th July 2025 to 2 charges under the public order act 1986 where it is alleged that by my handing out of 2 "doom town " Chick tracts it had caused 2 people to feel harassed , alarmed or distressed because it was alleged that the tracts contained threatening abusive or insulting words. My solicitor and I were hoping that I would have the opportunity to opt for a jury trial in a crown court but the police and the CPS made corrections to the charges to deny me that opportunity.

At the hearing in court on the 6th July the matter was adjourned and a trial date set for the 10th October 2025 and an allowance of 3 hours for the hearing. I was again bailed.

I attended Westminster magistrates on the 10th October expecting the case to be tried but again it was adjourned because they had a more urgent case to hear . The trial was rescheduled and I was again bailed to appear in court on the 9th February 2026 at the City of london magistrates court ( next to the bank of England ).

I attended court on the 9th February 2026. It was a long day in court. I got there very early . The courts had a full list and there were other cases before mine even though mine was scheduled for 10 AM. My solicitor Michael Phillips was there as were 2 of his colleagues ( all of whom are Christian ) and our expert witness Dr David Martin Parsons ( also a Christian ). I was very glad to have the emotional, spiritual and moral support of all 4 of them and I was only able to afford them because of the support I received through this go fund me.

We had to sit around for hours because the case in front of mine was dragging on and we did not actually get into court until about 3 PM. The police and the 2 complainants were present as was the crown prosecution solicitors. There was a panel of 3 magistrates. After a discussion, the magistrates felt that the matter was so complex that there was not sufficient time left that day to hear all the evidence so they adjourned the case and i was bailed yet again to appear in court on the 4th September 2026 at 10 AM.

So my legal costs continue to accrue and I have to keep this Go fund me page going.

Thank you again everyone who has contributed or held myself and my legal team up in prayer.

The Go Fund me response has been extraordinary and over £7000 has now been raised . My solicitors ( 2 senior solicitors and one junior ) who have been incredible at the police station and my court appearances have received all of this apart from £1250 which has been used to obtain expert legal advice from Dr Martin Parsons who has been invaluable.

The magistrates have again allowed 3 HOURS for the trial in September. I am staggered that a trial of that length of time is needed but there you are. In some ways despite wanting to get this thing over and done with the delay by the courts in bringing the case to trial does at least allow me to continue to prepare my case and also to allow for more fund raising for my solicitors.

It is difficult to sometimes grasp the seriousness of the matter but the charges I have been charged with can potentially carry a term of imprisonment if I am found guilty in September 2026. The chick tracts are Gospel tracts . Gospel Tracts exist to save peoples souls and to give light and life to the Gospel through Jesus Christ. My intention was never to stir up hatred indeed I have never given doom town tracts to anyone other than people who were obviously homosexual.

The money I raise will all go to the solicitors Messrs Andrew Storch solicitors for the attention of Michael Phillips 92 London St. Reading RG1 4SJ Tel 01189 584407.

I am happy to answer any questions or queries anyone has.

Thank you very much for your attention.

London updated April 2026