Man admits sending death threat to councillor

A man who sent death threats to a councillor has admitted to sending the messages in court.

Grzegorz Grzech, 36, of Beech Crescent, pleaded guilty to sending a message which "conveyed a threat of death" to Bingley councillor Susan Fricker at Bradford Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Grzech, who will be sentenced in July, sent the message "One day it will be you on that tree" to Fricker, alongside an image of a tree with what appeared to be bodies hanging from it, in October 2025.

In a victim impact statement read in court, Fricker said the message made her scared to attend public events and was had not been able to her job to the best of her ability.

She said: "I shouldn't have to go to events feeling frightened that I might be harmed."

Miss Khan, prosecuting, told the court that on 16 October at 12:20 BST the defendant sent two messages to Fricker via Facebook Messenger.

She said: "The first message was an image of a large tree with what appeared to be human bodies hanging from several branches.

"This was followed by a second message that contained text reading: 'One day you will be on that tree.'

"The victim said that on discovering these messages she immediately felt fear that she would be harmed by this person."

Fricker told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she felt it was important to report the matter to police so the case would "act as a deterrent" to people who feel they can threaten public figures.

She said: "I found the situation extremely difficult to deal with but I concluded that I needed to report it not only for the safety of myself and my family but also with a sense of wider responsibility as a politician to push back against what seems to be an increasingly dangerous and hostile climate for politicians.

"I am deeply concerned about the impact online abuse is having on our politics and our society."

Grzech, who has no previous convictions, was awarded bail under the condition he does not contact Fricker. He will be sentenced on 31 July.

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