Thomas Mair, an identified white supremacist who shot and stabbed British lawmaker Jo Cox, was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday, CNN reports.
The jury found Mair guilty of murder and of possession of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an offense. Jo Cox was murdered by Mair in June, during the Brexit controversy, in what prosecutors called an act of “terrorism," according to NBC News. Cox was stabbed 15 times and received three gunshot wounds in a brutal and disturbing attack outside her constituency office in northern England.
Cox was a well-known supporter of the campaign to stay in the European Union—the opposite of Brexit—and a member of the Labour Party. The Guardian reports that Mair gave his name as “death to traitors, freedom for Britain” during his trial.
The BBC reports that Mair has a history of racism lasting over 30 years. He purchased neo-Nazi and white supremacist literature and memorabilia, wrote letters published in a racist South African magazine, and bought bomb making manuals from the neo-Nazi Alliance in the U.S.
Prosecutors argued during the trial that the murder of Cox was politically motivated by Mair’s opposing viewpoint to Cox’s pro-EU stance. Although the death of Cox is tragic and should never have occurred, the world can be grateful that justice was taken on Mair to ensure he can never hurt anyone else again.
