Glenn Mullen, 31, of Manchester, sent violent death threats to the Harry Potter author, which had Rowling fearing for the safety of her family. The "chilling" threats were issued on X as an audio message in January 2023. Mullen said he wanted to kill Rowling "with a big hammer," along with other violent threats.
Mullen also targeted Labour MP Rosie Duffield in the same message, saying that he was going to see her "at the bar with a big gun," court documents show.
Mullen admitted that he issued the threats during an Oct. 6, 2023, police interview, authorities said.
Rowling told prosecutors that she had to increase security following the threats, and claimed the incident "made her look over her shoulder and worry about the safety of her family and children."
Prosecutor Frances McCormack said that the famous author "has received threats such as these before and in the aftermath the threats have been acted on."
"She read the comments and what the clip said and she remembered the clip said she would be killed with a hammer or that he would kill me," McCormack told the court. "She saw the article identifying the person behind the accounts. She has received a large number of threats from a lot of people over the last three years but she said this was more serious because it was an audio clip."
"She sets out the targeted number of people and the threats were very specific, she sets out the choice of language was odd and as a result it made her look over her shoulder and fear for her family," said McCormack.
MP Duffield told the courts that she became "paranoid" attending events after the threats and lived in "constant fear." She cited the recent killings of fellow politicians Jo Cox and Sir David Amess as an increase in caution.
Mullen admitted to two charges of sending an article conveying threatening messages.
During sentencing, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring said Mullen was part of a new phenomenon in which people on social media hide "behind a keyboard to threaten, abuse, or harass people in the public eye." The judge said that before this incident Mullen was "a man of previous good character" and had been passionate about "gender equality," per the paper.
Judge Goldspring handed down two suspended concurrent eight-week prison sentences for at least two years. Mullen has been ordered to complete a 12-month community service order, including 20 days of rehabilitation activity and 150 hours of unpaid work. He has also been ordered to pay 85 euros in costs and a 154 euro victim surcharge, court documents show.
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