They spouted hate online. Then they were arrested.

A memorial for the victims of a knife attack at a children’s dance class in Southport, England, Aug 9, 2024. As hundreds of people appear in court for their role in recent anti-immigrant riots in Britain, several are accused of fuelling disorder through online posts, raising questions about the limits of free speech. — The New York Times

LONDON: A 53-year-old woman from northwest England was jailed for 15 months after posting on Facebook that a mosque should be blown up “with the adults inside”. A 45-year-man was sentenced to 20 months for goading his online followers to torch a hotel that houses refugees. A 55-year-old woman was questioned by police for a viral post that wrongly identified the suspect in a deadly stabbing knife attack at a children’s dance class.

These and other people are accused of being “keyboard warriors”, in the words of one British judge, exploiting social media to stir up the anti-immigrant riots that exploded after the suspect was arrested in the fatal stabbings of three young girls at the dance class, in the town of Southport. Their cases have now become examples in a politically charged debate over the limits of free speech in Britain.