Imprisoned for Islamophobic post: 'A keyboard warrior...'
A 53-year-old British woman has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after admitting to making an Islamophobic post on Facebook.
Julie Sweeney, the British woman in question, was handed the sentence at Chester Crown Court after pleading guilty to the charge.
Sweeney admitted that she posted the Islamophobic comment in a local community group on Facebook.
The controversial post read, "Don't protect the mosques, blow up the mosque along with the adults inside."
Prosecutor Sarah Badrawy informed the court that one of the 5,100 members of the Facebook community group was "disturbed" by a series of comments posted on the site following widespread violence.
Judge Steven Everett addressed Sweeney, stating:
"Like any reasonable person, you should have viewed the news and media with horror. Instead, you chose to be part of fueling hatred. You were part of a Facebook group with 5,100 members. You had a large audience. You threatened a mosque, wherever it may be. This was truly a horrific threat. So-called keyboard warriors like you need to learn to take responsibility for your vile and provocative language."
Sweeney admitted that she posted the comment "in anger" and that she "had no intention of scaring anyone." She acknowledged that the comment was "unacceptable" and stated that she would delete her Facebook account.
Sweeney's lawyer, John Keane, said, "She acknowledges that it was foolish. It was a single comment made on a single day. She lives a quiet, sheltered life in Cheshire and has never troubled the courts in her long life."
