Gardaí are investigating an online death threat made against Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald by a man who said he would shoot and kill her.
A suspect has been identified, while the social media platform where the video was posted, TikTok, has removed the video.
Ms McDonald said the threat came after a year of online abuse that has been directed at her, which she described as “unacceptable”.
“Last night a threat to kill me was issued online. The individual said he would shoot me dead. This represents an escalation of targeted online abuse directed at me over the last year,” she said in a post on X.
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“I have reported this to An Garda Síochána. Ironically, this threat was made while I was hosting a discussion on the need for zero tolerance when it comes to violence against women and girls.”
In a video posted on TikTok, a man wearing a balaclava threatened to shoot Ms McDonald, and then said that Garda Commissioner Drew Harris would also be shot.
The threats made against Ms McDonald and Mr Harris are now under investigation by the Garda and a suspect has been identified. Gardaí suspect, though it has yet to be proven, the masked man in the footage is a criminal figure based in Dublin who is well-known to them for violent and chaotic crime.
It is expected that the criminal investigation now under way will include a technical examination of mobile phone data and gardaí would trace the history of the social media account.
In reply to queries, Garda Headquarters issued a brief response saying it was “aware of footage posted to social media” on Tuesday.
“An Garda Síochána is investigating this matter. No further information is available at this time,” the reply added.
TikTok, meanwhile, has admitted that it made a mistake in not removing a video of a user who made death threats on its platform against Ms McDonald and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.
The video and the account have both been taken down by TikTok after several people flagged it.
TikTok confirmed it was investigating why the video was not taken down immediately.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s News at One, Ms McDonald said the threat had been “blatant and blunt” and said it represented “an escalation on what has been a really relentless campaign over the last 12 months or so of abuse of a misogynistic, sometimes a racist nature” and has reported the matter to An Garda Síochána.
“I’m all for freedom of expression. I do not believe in censorship,” she said.
“I think the objective of the exercise has been to cast doubt or alienate or disrupt the relationship between myself and Sinn Féin and those that would support us, rely on us to represent them, and it’s been pretty relentless,” she added.
“If you visit any of my social media platforms you would see that. But last night, that escalated to a direct threat to take my life. And I’m shocked by this, to be honest with you. And, as I say, I’ve placed it now in the hands of An Garda Síochána.”
It comes amid heightened attention on the wider issue of politicians’ safety. On Wednesday, former taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he was worried about his safety “a number of times” during his political career, including on the night of the Dublin riots when he was advised not to go home and stayed elsewhere.
Earlier this year, a survey of politicians found that 94 per cent of politicians and 72 per cent of political staff who responded had experienced some form of threat, harassment, abuse or violence.
* This article was amended on 18/07/24
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