Woman appears in court charged with hate crime over migrant hotel protest
- Rory Cassidy
- Jun 13
- 1 min read
A woman has appeared in court charged with an alleged hate crime over a clash with a police officer at a protest outside a migrant hotel.
Stacey Williams was arrested at a demonstration in Greenock, which came as part of action across Britain after a stabbing in Belfast.
The 32-year-old was detained by Police Scotland officers and held in custody before appearing in the dock at Greenock Sheriff Court yesterday, Friday, June 12, 2026.
She was represented by defence solicitor Luke Robertson during her private hearing, where she made no plea to the single charge she faces.
Prosecutors have charged Williams, of Greenock, with breaching Section 4(1) of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.
The section states that "A person commits an offence if the person behaves in a manner that a reasonable person would consider to be threatening, abusive or insulting, or communicates to another person material that a reasonable person would consider to be threatening, abusive or insulting, and either in doing so, the person intends to stir up hatred against a group of persons based on the group being defined by reference to race, colour, nationality (including citizenship), or ethnic or national origins, or a reasonable person would consider the behaviour or the communication of the material to be likely to result in hatred being stirred up against such a group."
It's understood that bail was opposed by prosecutors.
But Sheriff Anthony McGeehan released Williams on bail and continued the case for prosecutors to investigate further.
No future court dates have been set.
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