A man suspected of making online threats to shoot Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris following violence in Coolock, Dublin, has been charged by gardaí.
The man (28), from west Dublin, was arrested and taken for questioning by members of the Special Detective Unit, which is responsible for matters of State security, on Thursday.
He has since been charged under Section 5 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997 at a Garda Station in Dublin and is due to appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) on Friday morning.
Despite wearing a makeshift balaclava while issuing the threats on the social media platform TikTok, the man was quickly identified by gardaí as a result of the personal details he posted online.
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In the video, since removed from TikTok, a man allegedly threatened violence against Ms McDonald and Mr Harris while expressing support for people engaged in disturbances outside proposed asylum seeker accommodation in Coolock.
Gardaí have become increasingly concerned in recent months about commentary directed at political figures by far-right extremists. Protection measures for Cabinet members have been increased and security advice has been provided to elected representatives.
Speaking on Thursday morning, Ms McDonald said she was determined not to let the incident deter her. The Dublin Central TD said the experience had been “very frightening” but she was thankful for public support and was now “calling out” it out.
“I’ve had a year of it, of being trashed and vilified. It’s politically inspired. I’m sick of it,” she told Newstalk Breakfast.
Ms McDonald criticised social media platforms for allowing such content to go unchecked while the accounts of democratically elected people were blocked from displaying political content.
“There’s material in circulation, not just on TikTok, but other social media platforms and I scratch my head and wonder how, in the name of God, any platform that’s moderated in any way, becomes a vector for the level of hate and at the level of misinformation, the level of viciousness.”
The Sinn Féin leader said being challenged and criticised was part of the job, but there had been a particularly vicious focus on her and her party in the last year. She said there was clear attempt to “alienate sentiment, particularly in working class areas, to brand me as a traitor, to brand Sinn Féin as a traitor”.
The incident would “absolutely not” make her think of stepping back from politics, Ms McDonald added.
“If anything, it makes me all the more determined to be part of facing this toxic dynamic down with others ... We cannot allow the toxic legacy of hate to win.”
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