A 39-year-old man has been sentenced to prison for sending a “completely unacceptable” email to safeguarding minister Jess Phillips, just one day after she faced criticism from Elon Musk, the owner of X.
Jack Bennett, hailing from Seaton in Devon, admitted to dispatching harmful communications to three individuals, including the Birmingham Yardley MP, between February 2024 and January 2025, as he appeared in Exeter magistrates court on Tuesday.
The Crown Prosecution Service revealed that the email targeting Phillips was sent on January 2, following Musk’s remark that Phillips “deserves to be in prison” for her refusal to entertain requests for a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham. Musk also later referred to her as a “rape genocide apologist.”
The prime minister indicated that Musk’s words had crossed a line, resulting in threats directed at the minister.
In sentencing Bennett to 28 weeks of incarceration, District Judge Smith remarked that the email had inflicted “significant distress” on Phillips.
He explained: “[She] was worried about your potential to escalate or incite others to violence against her, recalling the murder of her colleague Jo Cox.”
Additionally, Bennett sent racist and derogatory emails to Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, in February 2024, and to Matt Twist, an assistant commissioner with the Metropolitan Police, in April 2024.
The court learned that Bennett’s harmful messages originated during the pandemic when he became “entangled” in right-wing propaganda online.
The judge noted that the email directed at Khan “intentionally sought to demean, insult, and offend him based on his ethnicity and Asian background.”
He further stated, “Your communications to all three were absolutely reprehensible, vile, and abusive, filled with hate, intolerance, and blatant racism.”
Bennett’s attorney, Caroline Salvatore, argued that her client had no prior criminal record and appeared to be neurodivergent and largely isolated socially.
She explained, “During the pandemic, he was exposed to right-wing propaganda and became embroiled in it, leading to increased indignation over various issues that infiltrated his vocabulary.”
Salvatore mentioned that his behavior escalated following his father’s death in 2023, which served as a “triggering event.” With his mother, whom he lives with, becoming increasingly dependent on him, he withdrew further into online life. “He started to isolate himself even more, and over time, the situation deteriorated.”
She added that his actions stemmed from a “genuine frustration” with the perceived incompetence of those he emailed, though he acknowledged he intended to be offensive and understands the gravity of his mistakes.
Bennett pleaded guilty to four counts of sending malicious communications and one count of using a public communication network to disseminate offensive emails.
Prosecutor Hannah Cotton stated that the emails contained “serious racist abuse towards politicians,” with the language employed in the emails to Twist deemed “extremely offensive,” including derogatory comments labeling him a “rat willing to employ strong-arm tactics against white English patriots.”
Cotton requested restraining orders for five years, which the judge approved.
This article was updated on February 19, 2025. It was clarified that Hannah Cotton represented the prosecution in this criminal matter, rather than representing Jess Phillips as initially stated.
