Northern Ireland

New Alliance Assembly member Kellie Armstrong sent vicious messages by online trolls during election count

Kellie Armstrong seen celebrating after she was elected an Alliance Assembly member for Strangford with party leader, Naomi Long. Picture by Hugh Russell
Kellie Armstrong seen celebrating after she was elected an Alliance Assembly member for Strangford with party leader, Naomi Long. Picture by Hugh Russell Kellie Armstrong seen celebrating after she was elected an Alliance Assembly member for Strangford with party leader, Naomi Long. Picture by Hugh Russell

A newly-elected Alliance Assembly member has revealed how she was left "physically sick" during last week's election count after she was sent vicious messages by online trolls.

Kellie Armstrong, who topped the poll and was first elected in the Strangford constituency, had to leave the count centre for a time to compose herself after being sent images of aborted foetuses.

Ms Armstrong has in the past spoken about suffering 13 miscarriages.

She said she was checking her emails and social media messages after she had been elected when she was confronted with the content.

"I opened what I thought was just another message, making sure I was covering off anything constituents were in contact about," she said.

"There were a lot of congratulatory messages coming through, and then I saw the images.

"I don't need taken back to a time when I was seeing my own children who had died in that sort of state."

Speaking on BBC Radio Foyle, the politician, Ms Armstrong added: "Any time I see that it makes me feel physically sick, and I have been sick in the past.

"Emotionally, you can imagine it brings you right back to a grief of the time that you suffered the loss. It's very tough, tears were shed.

"My lost children are never far from my mind anyway, it just shows the sort of viciousness these trolls have and what they think they have the right to send people".

A PSNI spokeswoman said: "Police in Newtownards received a report of malicious messages being posted on a social media platform on Friday, May 6th.

"Enquiries are ongoing into this incident..."

Ms Armstrong was not the only female politician targeted during the recent campaign.

South Down DUP MLA Diane Forsythe described a false video circulated about her online as "disturbing and vile" while SDLP Assembly member Cara Hunter said the final weeks of the campaign had been "the worst of her life" after a false video was circulated about her.