Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has made a complaint to gardaí about a threat made online by a man who said he would shoot and kill her.
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.
“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.”
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In one video posted online, a masked man spoke about the recent demonstration at the former Crown Paints factory on Malahide Road that has been earmarked for accommodating asylum seekers.
He goes on to issue threats to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, Ms McDonald and politicians generally.
Gardaí have been asked for comment.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s News at One, Ms McDonald said the threat had been “blatant and blunt”.
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 really piled on against me in a very concentrated and co-ordinated way.
“I’m all for freedom of expression. I do not believe in censorship. I am also not somebody who is touchy or sensitive about criticism and commentary that comes with being a public figure, but I do not accept, and I will not accept threats against my life, or anybody else’s. It is utterly unacceptable. And it is sinister.
“I have reported the matter to An Garda Síochána. I expect them to deal with it appropriately.”
The threat did not relate to any specific issue, she said. It was part of a trend over the past year from a “very organised section of people online to have a run at Sinn Féin and at me in particular”.
“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.
“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.
“The same individual made a threat against a senior member of An Garda this year – that to me, is completely unacceptable. And I expect that that matter will be dealt with as well.”
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