Legal fees and court costs

Hello Christian brothers and sisters. 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. I am seeking help with the funding of my Christian solicitor.

I had my first hearing in Westminster magistrates court this Wednesday the 6th of July. I was there to plead guilty or not guilty 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.

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

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 moment I was saved I became very evangelical, street preaching , handing out Gospel tracts, going into prisons sharing the Gospel. This has remained with me to this day . I worked a lot in Soho from a young age as a trainee surveyor and commercial estate agent and also lived in the area on and off over the 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.

I have given out hundreds of thousands of tracts over the years and have used many different ones. I often use chick tracts because they are King James bible based 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 this year, 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 always put my name and number on them.

In April, for the first time in nearly 20 years of handing out tracts in Soho, 2 men took exception to the tract and chased 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 on 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 handing the doom town tracts to two complainants . 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 will be prosecuted and the initial court hearing was held on Wednesday this week, the 6th of July.

I retained the services of a very good Christian solicitor and plead not guilty at the hearing this week. We were hoping that I would have the opportunity to opt for a jury trial but through the police amending the charges at the last minute this option was not open to me. So the case is going to full trial on the 10th October at the City of London Magistrates court.

These charges can potentially carry a term of imprisonment if I am found guilty on the 10th of October. 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.

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.

I believe that a fundamental right to preach the Gospel of Salvation is at stake here.

Thank you very much.