A man who left offensive voicemails to Labor Deputy Leader Angela Rayner has been sentenced to eight weeks in prison.
The Ashton-under-Lyne MP said she “broke down in tears” and was “insanely scared” after being attacked by Stuart Kelly.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard a message left on October 15, 2021: “I hope you get shot.”
The court heard Kelly, 53, of Halifax, who pleaded guilty, linked Ms Rayner to the murder of Sir David Amess.
The machine operator pleaded guilty to sending abusive, indecent, obscene or threatening messages in the past month.
Kelly was also handed a two-year restraining order against the MP.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring said the calls were “insulting” and “threatening” and “contain a reference to her being shot”.
The court heard Kelly linked Ms Rayner’s comments at the Labor Party conference in September, when she called Prime Minister Boris Johnson “scum”, to the Conservative MP’s murder.
Sir David, 69, was stabbed to death during an operation in his Leigh-on-Sea constituency in Essex.
Later that day, Kelly left three voicemail messages for Ms. Rayner at her constituency office within 30 minutes.
One said: “I hope you get shot. You contributed to his death, you filthy scum.”
In another, Kelly accused Ms. Rayner of being a murderer.
Ms Rayner said in a statement she was “no stranger to criticism” and had developed a “thick skin” throughout her career.
“When I saw the content of the emails and voicemails, I burst into tears,” she said. “I’m terrified, not just for my own safety, but for the safety of my family, my children and my staff.”
She said it “scared” her to leave her house and “completely changed” her as a person, and it “made me question my work.”
Ms Rayner said it was “absolutely devastating” to be accused of being linked to Sir David’s death, adding: “Over the past five years I have seen two close colleagues stabbed to death on duty.”
She said the killings of MP Jo Cox and Sir David made her concerned the same could happen to her.
Zaki Hashmi, defending Kelly, said: “The behavior was inexcusable, Mr Kelly was drunk. That is more of an explanation than a justification for what he did.”
A second man, Michael McGrath, 70, from Sheffield, also admitted sending an abusive email to Ms Rayner’s office.
He was previously sentenced to a six-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months.
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