White House is ‘monitoring' case of Tory councillor's wife Lucy Connolly after she was jailed for racist Southport post
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THE White House has said it is 'monitoring' the case of Lucy Connolly in an escalation of free speech tensions with Sir Keir Starmer.
Judges threw out an appeal brought by the 42-year-old last week, meaning she will not be released before August.
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Lucy Connolly was jailed after she urged rioters to set migrant hotels alight following the Southport riots
Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
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Raymond Connolly has defended his wife amid the ordeal
Credit: PA
The wife of Conservative councillor Ray Connolly was jailed for 31 months over a racist social media post about the Southport attacks.
A spokesman for the state department said: '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 former childminder deleted the post after four hours, but was arrested in August and pleaded guilty to a charge of inciting racial hatred in October.
Trump ally Charlie Kirk raised the matter on GB News, saying he would inform Marco Rubio the secretary of state.
He said: 'I just find it so outrageous that she is now going to jail for two and a half years for a deleted social media post that she apologised for.
"As you guys (the UK) have birthed free speech to the world, you are now becoming a totalitarian country.'
Connolly posted the comments on her X account just hours after three girls were knifed to death in Southport, Merseyside.
Connolly launched bid against her "harsh" sentence but this was thrown out by Court of Appeal judges on May 20.
They ruled "there is no arguable basis on which it could be said that the sentence imposed by the judge was manifestly excessive".
Dads of Southport victims run London Marathon
Husband Ray said he was 'heartbroken' the appeal bid was dismissed, adding: 'My wife has paid a very high price for making a mistake and today the court has shown her no mercy'.
Mr Connolly also called the decision to throw the bid out "shocking and unfair" and claimed his wife was the victim of "two-tier justice".
He said: "The 284 days of separation have been very hard, particularly on our 12-year-old girl. Lucy posted one nasty tweet when she was upset and angry about three little girls who were brutally murdered in Southport.
"She realised the tweet was wrong and deleted it within four hours. That did not mean Lucy was a 'far right thug' as Prime Minister Keir Starmer claimed.
"My wife Lucy is a good person and not a racist. As a childminder she took care of small children of African and Asian heritage; they loved Lucy as she loved them. My wife has paid a very high price for making a mistake and today the court has shown her no mercy.
"Lucy got more time in jail for one tweet than some paedophiles and domestic abusers get. I think the system wanted to make an example of Lucy so other people would be scared to say things about immigration. This is not the British way."
While the Free Speech Union (FSU), which funded Connolly's appeal bid, said: "This is a deeply disappointing judgment.
"No one disputes the tweet was offensive but the sentence of more than two-and-a-half years was plainly disproportionate.
"Two-and-a-half years for a single tweet is grossly disproportionate and it should trouble anyone who believes the law must be applied evenly, without fear or favour."
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