Internet troll threatened to kill JK Rowling and MP

An internet troll who posted “chilling” messages online threatening to kill Harry Potter author JK Rowling and former MP Rosie Duffield has been sentenced.

Glenn Mullen, 31, uploaded audio clips in Gaelic threatening to kill Ms Rowling “with a big hammer” and saying he was “going to see Rosie Duffield in the grass with a big gun”, the Magistrates’ Court heard. Westminster.

Mullen, of Clyde Road, Manchester, was publicly identified as the poster of the video clips by an online magazine shortly after they were posted on social media website X in January 2023, the court was told.

He admitted two counts of sending an article conveying threatening messages at an earlier hearing and was given two suspended sentences.

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring said Mullen’s actions were part of a “modern phenomenon” of people “hiding behind a keyboard to threaten, abuse or harass people in the public eye”.

In statements read by the prosecution, the court heard Scottish author Ms Rowling thought the threats “seemed calculated” and “were quite chilling”.

“They made her look over her shoulder and worry about the safety of her family and children,” the prosecution added.

The court heard the messages made Ms Duffield, who is Labour’s general election candidate in Canterbury, feel “nervous walking around her constituency where she was visible and easily accessible”.

Mullen made no comment in a police interview on March 10 but made “full and frank admissions” to making the threats in a subsequent interview on October 6, the court was told.

Goldspring handed down two eight-week prison sentences, suspended for two years, to be served concurrently.

He also ordered Mullen to complete a 12-month community order, including 20 days of rehabilitation activity and a requirement to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

He said: “There seems to be a modern phenomenon that Twitter and other social media and online platforms allow you to say and do what you like – and especially people in the public eye, a lot of people think they’re fair game.”

He added: “Yes, of course freedom of speech is important, but there is also a line to draw in the sand, and you crossed that line.”

Mullen was also ordered to pay £85 in costs and a £154 victim surcharge.

Goldspring added that Mullen was a “man of previous good character” who had “strong views on gender equality”.

In a statement after the sentencing, senior CPS prosecutor John Moran said: “The messages uploaded to social media were targeted and deeply disturbing.

“The audio clips had a significant impact on the two victims, who described feeling upset, disturbed and disturbed when they heard them.

“No one has the right to issue threats or abuse, either in person or through social media.”