lucy connolly

Lucy Connolly is a woman from Northampton who was convicted and jailed for inciting racial hatred due to a social media post she made on X (formerly Twitter) in July 2024. On the day of the Southport attack where three girls were killed, she posted a message calling for "mass deportation now" and urged followers to "set fire" to hotels housing asylum seekers. This post was made after she had encountered false information online about the attacker being a Muslim asylum seeker. Connolly, who was a childminder and cared for children of African and Asian heritage, admitted guilt in September 2024 and was sentenced to 31 months in prison at Birmingham Crown Court. She served 40% of her sentence before being released on license with probation supervision. Her case sparked controversy, with debates about free speech and the severity of her sentence. She described herself as a political prisoner held by the government, asserting that her post was made in anger and distress over the Southport murders, not as advocacy for violence. Her husband, Raymond Connolly, a former Conservative councillor, defended her character and described the punishment as harsh. Lucy Connolly's appeal against her sentence was refused in May 2025. In interviews following her release, she expressed that the grief from her own son's death many years ago, coinciding with the Southport incident, affected her mental state when posting the message. She stated that she regretted the post but did not intend to incite violence. Her case has continued to generate discussion about online hate speech, free expression, and legal responses to social media postings related to race and immigration issues.