Lucy Connolly, the wife of West Northamptonshire Conservative councillor Raymond Connolly, has been sentenced to 31 months in prison for inciting racial hatred through posts on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
The charges stem from her inflammatory messages posted shortly after the tragic Southport attacks in July, in which she called for the mass deportation of immigrants and advocated for setting fire to hotels housing asylum seekers.
Her posts, which received widespread attention, included racist language and targeted minority communities, fueling tension during an already volatile period.
Connolly admitted to the charges in September and faced sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court. During the proceedings, the court heard how her posts had been viewed over 300,000 times, and her actions were condemned for contributing to societal division and inciting hatred.
Despite having no prior convictions, her sentence reflects the seriousness of the offences, as Judge Melbourne Inman KC emphasized the harmful impact her words had in a sensitive, tense atmosphere following the Southport stabbings.
Source:
The Metro
