A WOMAN has been found “not guilty” of sending a threatening message to SNP MP Joanna Cherry.
Eve Shaw appeared at Edinburgh’s Sheriff Court on Monday, accused of sending an electronic message that was menacing in character.
Shaw had written, in a Twitter post from January 2022 responding to a friend commenting on a news story about the MP, that she was “gonna pop Joanna Cherry”.
Cherry told the court that she had interpreted the message as a threat to do her violence, but Shaw argued that it had been a “pun” on the SNP MP’s name.
“‘Pop’ refers to a gunshot or taking a pop at someone. I have to take these things seriously as two members of Parliament have been murdered since I became an MP,” Cherry said.
Shaw said she did not take the initial contact from the police seriously as she “could not see how anyone could see this as a threat”.
She further said she had been arrested and charged after police raided her home and seized her electronic devices, Edinburgh Live reported.
Cherry’s chief of staff, Fraser Thomson, said he had seen the tweet and alerted police the following day after a conversation with the MP. He said he had taken it to be a “very serious” threat.
The sheriff said the tweet was “very unwise” but added that he had “reasonable doubt” as to Shaw’s guilt.
She was acquitted and found not guilty.
Cherry said after the verdict: "I’m grateful to the police for taking this matter seriously.
"This person’s Twitter feed which threatened violence towards me gave legitimate cause for serious concern. Whether to prosecute and what evidence to lead were matters for the Crown."
In June, the London Metropolitan police assessed another tweet aimed at Cherry and concluded it did not constitute a crime.
Cherry had reported a tweet in which a Twitter user – who appears to have since deleted their account – threatened: “I’d kill her with my bare hands if I saw her [in real life]”.
