A man who threatened to kill Harry Potter author JK Rowling and Labor politician Rosie Duffield has avoided prison.
Glen Mullen, 31, posted “chilling” audio clips in which he threatened to kill Rowling “with a big hammer” and said he would see Mrs Duffield “in the bar with a big gun”.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard the messages were published in Gaelic on January 1, 2023.
Mullen, of Clyde Road, Manchester, admitted two counts of sending an article containing threatening messages.
Prosecutors said JK Rowling believed the threats were “quite frightening”.
“They made her look over her shoulder and worry for the safety of her family and her children,” they told the court.
Rosie Duffield, who is running for re-election as MP for Canterbury, felt “nervous walking around her constituency, where she was visible and easily accessible”, prosecutors added.
The court heard Mullen made no comment in an initial police interview but eventually admitted the crimes.
Two suspended sentences
He received two eight-week prison sentences, suspended for two years, meaning he will not be jailed unless he commits another offence.
Mullen was also told to do 150 hours of unpaid work and complete a 12-month community order which includes 20 days of rehabilitation.
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“There seems to be a modern phenomenon that Twitter and other social media and online platforms allow you to say and do whatever you want – and particularly people in the public eye, many people think it’s fair game,” the magistrate said. Chief Paul Goldspring.
‘Previously good character’
“Yes, of course freedom of speech is important, but there is also a line to draw in the sand… and you have gone well beyond that line.”
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He said Mullen, who must also pay £85 costs and a £154 victim surcharge, was a “man of good character” who had “strong views on gender equality”.
Speaking after the sentencing, CPS senior prosecutor John Moran said the messages had “a significant impact on the two victims, who described feeling upset, worried and distressed when they heard them”.
“No one has the right to make threats or abuse, whether in person or through social media,” he added.
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