The controversial cleric alleged “republicans” were behind his arrest as he claimed he “made history” by being the first person in Northern Ireland detained over social media posts.
Peeples (55) was lifted and quizzed for 48 hours after 27 armed PSNI officers in a fleet of seven armoured vehicles swooped on his bungalow home in the Glencairn district of west Belfast.
The arrest operation went ahead as opposing factions in the immigration debate prepared to face each other in separate demos in Belfast city centre.
And today, Peeples tells how just hours before those protests, cops burst into his home and surrounded him in his living room before placing him under arrest.
He also claims PSNI “boot boys” smashed their way into his extensive library before removing computers, cameras and a mobile phone.
Former loyalist terrorist Peeples was daubed the ‘Pipe Bomb Pastor’ and was sent down for 10 years when anti-terror cops pounced on him in possession of a cache of home-made pipe bombs and grenades following a high-speed car chase outside Dungannon.
At his trial in 2001, it emerged the Shankill Road preacher was also a suspected ‘Brigadier’ in the shadowy loyalist terror group the Orange Volunteers.
Now, more than two decades later, Peeples remains a divisive and contentious figure in loyalist circles.
But following his release from police custody, Peeples — who last year left Queen’s University with a Masters Degree in Law — revealed that during his two-day detention, anti-terror cops even quizzed him about the possibility of him being an Israeli spy.
And in an exclusive interview with the Sunday World yesterday, Peeples insisted he was taken off the streets purely because the PSNI “buckled” under republican pressure.
He claimed: “I am the first person to be arrested after the supposed crackdown on social media in Northern Ireland.
“But the directive to have me arrested came after two meetings with senior police officers and senior republicans.
“It was the worst kept secret in the entire country, because for days before the police were briefing the press that I was going to be arrested.
“The alleged social media offence should have been investigated by ordinary uniformed police,” insisted Peeples.
“But instead, the arrest operation was passed to the Organised Crime Branch, which normally deals with large-scale drug dealing, people trafficking, prostitution and paramilitary activity.
Clifford Peeples
“On the back of a complaint from senior republicans about three Facebook posts, 27 armed officers raided my home in the early morning.
“They forced their way in through the front and back doors simultaneously.”
But the former loyalist prisoner claims that just hours before, he had been tipped off to expect a visit from the PSNI.
“I had a good idea they were coming and when they did, 10 officers burst in, surrounding me in my living room. CID officers were there and they handed me warrants to explain my arrest.
“A heated verbal exchange then took place and I told the officers they were a disgrace to their oath and uniform and that they should be ashamed of themselves.
“I told the police it was disgraceful that they were hiding behind supposed public disorder to appease a complaint from republicans.”
Peeples also said he forced the PSNI raiding party to listen while he read out the names of RUC officers murdered by the IRA.
Pipe Bomb Pastor Clifford Peeples spoke exclusively to the Sunday World
Said Peeples: “I told the PSNI the people who murdered a previous generation of police officers are the very same people who directed them to my home.”
He added: “I was then arrested and taken to Musgrave Street Custody Suite for questioning.”
But Peeples claims it was when he had been removed from the property that his home was damaged.
He said: “I later learned neighbours had confronted the police telling them there was no need to damage anything inside my home, but as the picture shows, the door to my library was booted in.”
Peeples said when he arrived a Musgrave Street he was strip-searched and placed in a police cell. “I was finally interviewed 13 hours after I was arrested and I told the officers I believed it was a political decision to have me arrested and that there was no evidence that I had committed any crime.
“And I challenged them at every opportunity to present evidence or the statement of complaint made against me, but they failed in this regard,” Peeples maintained.
Peeples said the investigating officers then quizzed him about his knowledge of computers and demanded to know why he appeared to have taken a computer apart. He said: “They wanted to know if I was building a computer with a view to breaking into other networks.
“My solicitor told them their line of questioning was irrelevant as I had been arrested for allegedly publishing hate material. The detectives said they would provide evidence in that regard, but they didn’t.”
Peeples said detectives also quizzed him about his ‘high-end’ photographic equipment and pressed him to reveal if he was working for an ‘out of state’ agency.
He said: “It was clear to me the PSNI wanted to know if I was working for the Israelis by compiling photo-files of Muslim extremists. It was nonsense and I told them that.”
Peeples hit the headlines last year when it emerged he had done two tours of Ukraine assisting the army in its battle with the Russians.
The loyalist said the police then questioned him about his Facebook account and in particular wanted to talk about three posts.
“I had posted a piece about the Southport attacks expressing concern for the safety of police officers and my solicitor demanded to know how it could be construed as hateful.
“They then asked I was influenced by a well-known right-wing political philosopher. I refused to talk about that because my post hadn’t broken any Facebook rule or regulations.
“And they then asked me about anti-Semitism. The police appeared to imply I actually hated everyone. It was truly bizarre.”
He added: “It was obvious I hadn’t breached any hate laws.”
Peeples said that on the second day of his detention the police quizzed him about Facebook posts by the so-called Protestant Coalition — blamed by some of encouraging the latest race hate violence.
And he revealed that shortly before he was released he was handed a bag containing items of clothing which had been removed on his arrival at the Custody Suite.
Said Peeples: “It was only when I got home I noticed the bag also contained prescriptive medicine for another man.
“I attempted to hand it in to my nearest PSNI station, but an officer on the gate refused to accept it. I eventually returned the medicine to Musgrave Street.”
The PSNI said last night: “Officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Tactical Support Group conducted a search at the property. Damage was caused to a door while officers were gaining entry to a room.”
It added in relation to the medicine returned by Peeples: “Police received a report on Thursday 15th August of misplaced property. There are strict procedures in place in relation to the protection of all property of detained persons, and enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of this incident.”