A little over a week ago, Reform Party Spokeswoman and British conservative activist Ann Widdecombe was murdered at her home near Dartmoor. A suspect was arrested, but authorities said the murder didn't appear to be an act of terror or politically motivated.
Many called foul on that, as it was reported the suspect, a 26-year-old man later identified as Joshua Kerry, had driven hundreds of miles to Widdecombe's home and that he was found in possession of communist literature. The Counter-Terrorism Police took charge of the investigation and later said the attack was politically motivated.
Yesterday, Kerry made his first court appearance, where he was denied release.
At his first court hearing today in London, Joshua Kerry, the man accused of m—rdering conservative figure and Reform immigration spokesperson Ann Widdecombe, was denied release. The prosecution told the judge that Widdecombe, 78, was repeatedly bashed on the head with a hammer.… pic.twitter.com/B0MTVuFmCA
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) July 21, 2026
"Police initially focused on the wanted suspect being white and dismissed the concern that the killing could be politically motivated. Their initial arrest was of the wrong man and he was released. Many leftists have been celebrating Widdecombe’s killing because she was an outspoken Christian conservative," Ngo wrote.
Now the Crown Prosecution Service is reporting that Widdecombe was struck with the hammer more than 20 times.
Several left-wing groups, including Germany's Antifa Ost, or Hammerbande, use hammers to carry out terror attacks against political opponents. Palestine Action also advertises for "direct action" with hammers.
78-year-old Ann Widdecombe was bashed on the head repeatedly with a hammer until she died.
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) July 21, 2026
Palestine Action is advertising "direct action" training for people who want to take up militant action using hammers. pic.twitter.com/JOIQrZYiBj
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The violent "trantifa" group Bash Back also uses hammers to carry out attacks in the UK and around the world.
Reform immigration spokesperson Ann Widdecombe, 78, was bashed on the head repeatedly with a hammer until she died, it was revealed in court today as her m—rder suspect had his first hearing.
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) July 21, 2026
Violent trantifa group Bash Back is one of the many leftist groups calling for the end… pic.twitter.com/KsDC7kH3Y0
In the screenshot shared by Ngo, the social media user explains what Bash Back is and does:
Every day trans people are killed by bigoted violence, be it a murder on the street or systemic denial to lifesaving medical care.
The time for respectability politics is over. We do not have to take it anymore.
BASH BACK is a direct action movement founded and organised by tras people to fight for our own liberation.
JOIN US. SMASH TRANSPHOBIA. BASH BACK.
Last fall, the U.S. classified Antifa Ost and other such groups as international terrorist organizations.
Widdecombe was Catholic and an outspoken supporter of traditional marriage and family values, and about a year before her murder, she spoke to EWTN about death.
In a poignant exchange before her tragic murder, Ann Widdecombe was asked whether death frightened her.
— Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) July 22, 2026
She calmly replied that she expected to go to heaven and be reunited with her mother, father and brother—and hoped her old cats might be there too. pic.twitter.com/ZNLuk9vEW2
"I think throughout my 60s, I never thought about mortality," Widdecombe said. "Gonna live forever. I never thought about it in my 60s. When you get into your 70s, probably in the mid-70s, about 75, things start happening. You develop twinges where you never had them before. You start to forget names that you've known all your life. Little signs of that, and they are intimations of mortality. And you realize it's not going to be any different for you, you know?"
"Frighten me? No. No. I'd go to heaven, be with my mother, and my father, and my brother," she continued, "I always hope I might be with my past cats as well, but I don't think that's theologically sound."
Joshua Kerry is next due in court on October 9 and a provisional trial date has been set for around June 8, 2027. This story is not getting wide coverage in the United States, but it should. It's another example of a prominent, outspoken conservative being killed by an apparent leftist over political beliefs. Secretary of State Marco Rubio rightly called out the scourge and insurgency of left-wing violence, and it must be stopped.
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