A man has been given a 12-month community order after leaving a threatening Facebook comment about Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for stirring up racial hatred.

Jake Newman, 35, from Kingsley Road, Northampton, pleaded guilty to sending a communication threatening death or serious harm when he wrote: "Time to treat her house the way she wanted hotels treated, just make sure she's in it and not able to get out."

Connolly was jailed in 2024 after she called for people to "set fire" to hotels housing asylum seekers in the wake of the Southport attack, where three girls were murdered and others injured.

At his sentencing on Thursday at Birmingham Crown Court, Judge Smith told Newman he had committed a "dangerous, potentially very risky criminal act".

On 22 August 2025, Newman wrote the comment beneath a Northampton Chronicle Facebook post that included an article about Connolly's release.

Northamptonshire Police attended Newman's address the same day and arrested him after the comment was reported.

Newman admitted to officers he made the comment, but said he had no intention of causing alarm or distress or of inciting others to take action.

He was due to face trial after initially denying the charge, but later changed his plea to guilty.

Defending Newman, Diane Mundill said the defendant had been scrolling on his phone while awaiting medication at a time when he was "anxious".

She said he had demonstrated positive progress and now has "greater insight into his behaviour".

The judge accepted that Newman had been suffering from the effects of an acquired brain injury, which included impulsivity.

Of the Facebook post, the judge said: "You did not read the [newspaper] article but were familiar with the background.

"You did, however, read other messages that seemed supportive of the individual and this frustrated you.

"You posted a comment the next day which read: 'Time to treat her house the way she wanted hotels treated, just make sure she's in it and not able to get out'.

"When you posted that comment, you were reckless as to whether an individual would fear the threat of death.

"Whilst you did not wish the individual to feel fear, that was a very real risk of what you said."

The court heard Newman had previous convictions, including some that were "loosely related to internet misuse", but he was assessed as being a low risk of further offending.

The judge said: "I accept you are now remorseful."

When handing Newman the 12-month community order with a probation requirement, Smith warned he would face prison if he refused to comply with the sentence.

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