Trump officials have waded into the Lucy Connolly case again amid 'freedom of expression' concerns | indy100

Starmer backs Lucy Connolly prison sentence

Parliament Tv

Individuals associated with Donald Trump’s administration have once again raised the legal case of Lucy Connolly being jailed for inciting racial hatred following last year’s Southport attack, as right-wingers continue to question her sentence on free speech grounds.

Following the stabbing and killing of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class – which would go on to spark riots across England – Connolly took to Twitter/X to call for “mass deportation now”.

She continued: “Set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the b******* for all I care, while you’re at it take the treacherous government and politicians with them.

“I feel physically sick knowing what these families will now have to endure. If that makes me racist so be it.”

In September, Connolly pled guilty to a charge of inciting racial hatred by publishing and distributing “threatening or abusive” written material on X.

A month later, the 41-year-old was jailed for 31 months.

Conservatives in both the UK and US have criticised the sentence, with Doge boss Elon Musk drawing attention to Connolly’s jail sentence in a post on Twitter/X last month.

Now, it’s been revealed the US State Department is aware of the case, with a spokesperson telling The Telegraph in a statement: “We can confirm that we are monitoring this matter. The United States supports freedom of expression at home and abroad, and remains concerned about infringements on freedom of expression.”

The statement comes a week after Connolly’s appeal against her sentence was unsuccessful.

In a written judgment, Lord Justice Holroyde said: “There is no arguable basis on which it could be said that the sentence imposed by the judge was manifestly excessive. The application for leave to appeal against sentence therefore fails and is refused.”

Why not read…

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.