‘Deeply embarrassed’ Sharon Marie Hall says she was grieving when she attacked a protester at a Deborah Conway concert

A Tasmanian woman “processing the grief” from losing her husband has pleaded guilty to the common assault of a protester at a Deborah Conway concert in May.

A Tasmanian woman “processing the grief” from losing her partner has pleaded guilty to the common assault of a protester at a Deborah Conway concert in May, captured in a video that went viral online.

Sharon Marie Hall, 66, appeared before Magistrate Jackie Hartnett in the Hobart Magistrates Court on Wednesday, where she entered a guilty plea to one count of common assault and was sentenced to 49 hours of community service.

Defence lawyer Adrian Hilly said she was “deeply embarrassed” by the incident that occurred at singer-songwriter Deborah Conway’s show at the Playhouse Theatre.

Sharon Marie Hall, 66, pleaded guilty to common assault. Picture: Facebook.

According to court documents, several pro-Palestine protesters had disrupted the May 25 concert, relating to Ms Conway’s support of Israel’s military action in Gaza.

The victim stood up to voice her opinions about Israel, with Hall reacting to these statements and standing up to engage with the protester.

“The defendant had a wine glass in her hand when she stood up in the altercation,” the prosecutor said.

A still from a video showing a confrontation between a concert goer and protester at the Deborah Conway show at the Playhouse Theatre in Hobart.

“The defendant smashed the wine glass on the end of the stage, with shards travelling in the area and also hitting the victim.

“She proceeded to raise the broken glass and point it at the victim’s face and yell ‘get out, get out’.”

A security guard at the venue separated Hall and the victim, with the police attending a short time later to remove Hall and caution her for her actions.

The victim later chose to press charges and Hall was arrested and charged on June 1.

Sharon Marie Hall, 66, pleaded guilty to common assault. Picture: Facebook.

Mr Hilly said Hall had spent the past 17 years as a full-time carer for her partner, who was diagnosed with dementia and passed away on March 9 this year.

“At the time of offending, Ms Hall was still processing grief and indeed, she’s still doing that to this day,” he said.

“This was the first night she had gone out socially since the passing of her partner and it was a night she was looking forward to.”

Hall, described as a “long-time fan” of Deborah Conway, had seen her eight times prior to the fated concert.

Mr Hilly said the assault occurred as a “spontaneous reaction born out of frustration” that was in no way premeditated, behaviour that Hall doesn’t understand herself.

“Hall had no intention of making threats to complainant and no contact was going to be made to complainant,” Mr Hilly said.

“She’s sorry for what she’s done … and entered a plea of guilty at the earliest opportunity.”

Ms Hartnett acknowledged a lack of criminal record but said the act of holding “a jagged piece of glass at people in a theatre” was “too serious” to receive no sentence.

Originally published as ‘Deeply embarrassed’ Sharon Marie Hall says she was grieving when she attacked a protester at a Deborah Conway concert