Overview
- On January 6, Sheriff Charles Walls sentenced Shirley Craughwell to 20 months in prison, backdated to November 27, and her daughter Hannah to 16 months at Edinburgh sheriff court.
- They had pleaded guilty in November to offences committed between 2021 and 2024 that were aggravated by racial and religious prejudice.
- Court evidence showed posts praising Hitler, calling for another Holocaust, spreading Holocaust denial, and promoting conspiracy theories linking Israel to 9/11 and Covid, alongside racist and transphobic slurs.
- Police intelligence in May led to raids that uncovered a Telegram account with thousands of extremist comments using Nazi symbols, a Gab profile under 'Hannah Hitler', and Facebook and Instagram activity, plus local flyers for the propaganda film Europa: The Last Battle.
- The sheriff cited Shirley’s recording of a child performing Nazi salutes as a significant aggravation, noted Hannah’s minimisation of her conduct, and heard defence claims about isolation, online radicalisation and poor mental health, with Shirley expressing remorse.