In an incredibly predictable turn of events, the right-wing press and media have scrambled to make a martyr out of Lucy Connolly after she was released from prison.
On Thursday, Connolly, whose husband serves on Northampton Town Council, was released from HMP Peterborough after serving 40% of her 31-month prison sentence for inciting racial violence.
In a post on X shared on 29 July last year, 42-year-old had called for “mass deportation now” and urged her followers to “set fire” to hotels housing asylum seekers.
She was later arrested and in September she pleaded guilty inciting racial hatred by publishing and distributing “threatening or abusive” written material on X.
Her case sparked debate about whether a 31-month sentence for a post on social media was excessive.
Whilst there is a genuine conversation to be had on this front, what cannot be denied is that Connolly posted the vile tweet and did urge her followers to set fire to hotels.
Despite this, large parts of the right have desperately started portraying the former childminder as some sort of martyr.
The Daily Mail posted a piece on Friday about her “jail torment”, framing Connolly as a “middle-class mother,” and using an alleged line from an officer who said she was “the most petrified inmate they’d ever seen.”
In a separate Mail article, they similarly tried to invoke sympathy and support for Connolly.
Meanwhile, the Telegraph decided to run a piece about criminals who had been spared prison whilst Connolly served her time behind bars, in another clear attempt to garner support for her.
And The Sun shared an interview with Connolly’s husband, in which he hit out at Keir Starmer for her sentence.
Reform UK and Nigel Farage have obviously jumped on the bandwagon as well…
Even Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservatives, who some of you may have forgotten used to be a genuinely serious party, has expressed support for Connolly.
So here’s an important reminder for those looking to raise Lucy Connolly to martyrdom: she did share a disgusting and racist post on X, which was viewed by more than 300,000 people, urging them to attack asylum hotels, AND she pleaded guilty to this.
What some of you may not also know is there were other vile posts from her account as well. The Mirror reports that other tweets from her included posts referring to Somalis with vomiting emojis and reacting to an anti-racism protest by suggesting those taking a stand should house “an illegal boat invader”.
Lucy Connolly shared racist and xenophobic content – don’t listen the right-wing press convince you otherwise.