Intervention against a mother who was imprisoned for incited racial hatred follows Vice President J.D. Vance’s warning that British freedom of expression is “retreat.”
The US State Department says it is monitoring the case of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for 31 months in a social media post following the Southport murder, escalating freedom of speech concerns from British civil liberty groups.
A State Department spokesman told the Epoch Times in a statement: “We can see that we are monitoring this issue. The US supports freedom of expression both domestically and internationally, and is concerned about violations of freedom of expression.”
In April, the UK government denied that freedom of speech concerns raised by the State Department and Vice President JD Vance in connection with criminal prosecutions of life supporters played a “material role” in trade tariff negotiations between the two countries.
Connolly, a native of Northampton, was jailed after pleading guilty to inciting racial hatred following comments made by teenage murderer Axel Rudakubana in Southport on July 29th last year on Southport’s teenage murderer, who followed comments made on social media platforms about illegal immigration.
The problematic post called for “large deportation,” adding:
Summer Riots and Fake Information
Connolly’s problematic post appeared in response to misinformation spread by many well-known accounts on X while Southport attackers mistakenly claimed to be recently registered illegal immigrants.
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Previous Child Minder was jailed last October after his trial at Birmingham Crown Court, and told him he must serve 40% of his sentence before he can be released on his license.
The 42-year-old, married to former Conservative Councillor Ray Connolly, lost his appeal against the verdict last week. Her legal team claimed it was overly harsh because she deleted the problematic post within four hours of writing it while she was in an emotionally tormented state.
Former Conservative Councillor Raymond Connolly (Centre) includes broadcaster Dan Wooton outside the Court of Appeals of the Court of Justice in central London on May 15, 2025. Yui Mok/Pa
‘10,000 arrests’
Her husband said last Tuesday, following a failed appeal:
“She realized the tweet was wrong and deleted it within four hours. That didn’t mean that Lucy was, as Prime Minister (Sir) Kiel Starmer claimed, “a far-right thug.” ”
Johnson said it is in an area where people have “10,000 arrests per year” because of what they post online.
“We blamed the Gestapo, resisted them and ultimately destroyed them. We underspended the cruelty and threats of the KGB, Stasi and the securities.
Opposition ministers raised concerns about the Connolly incident. This includes Shadow Justice’s Robert Jenrik who said on talk radio, “How can you spend more time in prison for tweets than for violent crimes?”
US Vice President JD Vance will address the audience at the Munich Security Conference held at the Bayerishachaf Hotel in Munich, Germany on February 14, 2025. Matthias Schrader/AP Photo
Labor MP breaks rank
Last week, Mary Glyndon became the first Labour MP to break the party’s ranks, joined the Conservative MP and signed an allegation in support of Connolly’s release.
Surrounded by free speech lines earlier this year, Vance spoke to the Munich Security Conference in February about the concerns of Adam Smith Connor, a US citizen and Army veteran convicted of silent prayer in the abortion clinic buffer zone.
“It placed the fundamental freedoms of religious Britons at the intersection, especially the crossroads,” the vice president said, “a backslide away from the right to conscience,” and “free speech is fearful in England and across Europe.”
Vance vowed under President Donald Trump, “the town’s new sheriff,” Vance said, “we may disagree with your opinion, but we may fight to defend our right to provide them in the public square.”
The death of the son
Analyzing her archived posts, using the X handle @ljcj83 to spell her name to “Lucy,” Connolly was very active on social media platforms, regularly posting over 9,000 followers in the 100 regions in the nine months prior to her arrest.
Although she deleted her account after her arrest, around 10,000 of her archived posts reveal that she frequently commented on immigration subjects and plagued her posts with blasphemy. On the day of the Southport attack, she posted at least 118 times, including a reply.
When she heard about the murder that took place in a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, she claimed that her mental balance was affected by post-traumatic stress disorder.
Her defense argued that the death of Connolly’s 19-month-old son in 2011 had an impact on her reaction to the brutal murder of 6, Elsie. Stancom, 7, Alice Dasilva Agiar last July.
She told the court that she had little faith in authority or official versions of the event, as medical negligence led to the death of her son.
Dismissing her complaint, Judge Holloyd said that the three High Court judges who decided her fate had found Connolly pleading guilty without attracting a three-year starting point.
Starmer defended Connolly’s ruling when challenged by Congressional Lowe, saying:
“But I am equally opposed to incite violence against other people. I will always support the actions our police and courts have taken to keep people safe on the streets and.”
