Lucy Connolly is out of jail. She was one of about 1,800 people arrested during riots last summer in the wake of the Southport murders.

       Connolly, from Northampton, was convicted and jailed for publishing “threatening or abusive” material on social media, including an incitement to “set fire to all the f***ing hotels full of the bastards for all I care”.

       Hers is one of the more high-profile cases, and some activists have taken up her cause, claiming she has been a victim of “two tier” policing, harsh sentencing and restricted free speech.

       Her sentence was 31 months, and a bid to reduce it was rejected by the Court of Appeal in May. Under current early release rules, she is allowed out on licence for the remainder of her sentence, having served 40 per cent.

       Lucy Connolly has been released from prison(PA Media)

       What did Connolly do wrong?

       Her supporters mostly concede that what she said was wrong, but many also minimise it as mere “hurty words” for which nobody should be given a custodial sentence. There is also the suspicion in some quarters that the punishment was heavier because of political pressure; the prime minister said at the time that the full force of the law should be brought down on offenders.

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       But Connolly’s case was carefully examined at Birmingham Crown Court and the Court of Appeal. The facts were not in dispute, she pleaded guilty, and the judges have considered the context and acted within the guidelines approved by ministers.

       What did she post on social media?

       The mother of three, who was working as a childminder at the time and is the wife of a Tory councillor, wrote a number of messages but attention focused on this X post that was later deleted: “Mass deportation now. Set fire to all the f***ing hotels full of the bastards for all I care. While you’re at it, take the treacherous government and politicians with them. I feel physically sick knowing what these families will now have to endure. If that makes me racist, so be it.”

       While visible, it was viewed 310,000 times and reposted 940 times.

       Four days earlier, Connolly had responded to a video shared online by Tommy Robinson, showing a black male being tackled to the ground for allegedly masturbating in public. “Somalian, I guess. Loads of them,” she wrote, adding a vomiting emoji.

       Five days after the Southport murders, Connolly stated on social media, referencing an anti-racism demo: “Oh good. I take it they will all be in line to sign up to house an illegal boat invader then. Oh sorry, refugee. Maybe sign a waiver to say they don’t mind if it’s one of their family that gets attacked, butchered, raped etc, by unvetted criminals. Not all heroes wear capes.”

       Another message, on WhatsApp, read: “The raging tweet about burning down hotels has bit me on the arse lol.” Another message, sent later, was in response to the furore she’d caused.

       According to the Court of Appeal, in another message she said she intended to tell authorities she had been the victim of doxing and went on to say that if she got arrested she would “play the mental health card”.

       Did she have a defence?

       According to the Court of Appeal: “The stabbings of the children in Southport had put her into a rage. She said she felt hatred about the incident and the circumstances, not about race. She said she had taken the post down because she realised it was wrong. Later in the interview, she said her tweets were not racial and she had no intention to cause hate or racial issues.”

       Is she a hero?

       To some, she is akin to Emmeline Pankhurst or Joan of Arc. Senior members of the Trump administration have raised questions about freedom of speech in the UK as a result of the treatment of those who sent messages and were subsequently convicted of public order offences. Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, has lauded her in these terms: “Welcome to freedom, Lucy Connolly. You are now a symbol of Keir Starmer’s authoritarian, broken, two-tier Britain.”

       Kemi Badenoch has attacked the way the courts treated Connolly, going in hard on the two-tier charge: “Lucy Connolly finally returns home to her family today. At last. Her punishment was harsher than the sentences handed down for bricks thrown at police or actual rioting… meanwhile, former Labour councillor Ricky Jones called for protestors to have their throats slit. Charged with encouraging violent disorder, he pleaded not guilty and was acquitted by a jury who saw his words as a disgusting remark made in the heat of the moment, not a call to action.”

       Connolly will have no shortage of media outlets, some highly sympathetic, on which to appear should she wish.

       What does Keir Starmer think?

       He thinks politicians should stay out of the courtroom, and has no regrets. He told the Commons in May: “Sentencing is a matter for our courts, and I celebrate the fact that we have independent courts in this country. I am strongly in favour of free speech … but I am equally against incitement to violence against other people.”

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       What will happen next?

       Another extended skirmish in Britain’s endless and debilitating culture wars. Maybe that chap who took a brick to his testes during the disturbances will be the next contender for martyrdom.

       Did the tough sentencing work?

       Well, we haven’t had any more riots this year.