Overview

• Joseph Haythorne was sentenced on July 2 at Sheffield Crown Court after his initial conviction was quashed for lack of required attorney general consent.
• His August 4, 2024 social media post urged rioters to “burn any hotels with them scruffy bastards in it” during unrest outside a hotel housing 240 asylum seekers.
• Judge Jeremy Richardson KC acknowledged Haythorne’s clinical depression, early guilty plea and personal mitigation yet ruled immediate custody was necessary.
• Critics including the Free Speech Union cite the 15-month term as half the 31-month sentence upheld for Lucy Connolly’s near-identical tweet, arguing it shows two-tier justice.
• The case has sharpened scrutiny of legal thresholds for online incitement, the CPS’s procedural rigor and consistency in sentencing hate-speech offences.