Dr Anne McCloskey who ran in last week’s local election in Donegal has been jailed for refusing to pay a fine.
The 67 year old of Chapel Road, Derry appeared before Derry Magistrates Court today in connection with an unpaid Covid fine of £255 for a breach of Covid regulations in 2022.
She received 150 first preference votes in the Letterkenny local electoral area in last Friday’s election and is running as an Independent candidate in Foyle in the upcoming Westminster elections.
BBC News NI reports that Dr McCloskey was given an immediate warrant to pay the amount or go to prison for 14 days and accused court officials of “fraud” by entering a plea of not guilty for her in relation to the original offences.
She went on to say she had been arrested on the foot of “a fake entity” – namely the Director of Public Prosecution who she said did “not exist in law or statute”.
As the defendant continued to speak, Judge Barney McElholm muted her microphone and said she was talking “nonsense”.
He said he had given Dr McCloskey an opportunity but she had gone off on “a diatribe”.
