A man has been arrested by Gardaí investigating an online death threat against Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.
In a video posted to TikTok, a man wearing a makeshift balaclava threatened both Deputy McDonald and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.
He made the comments while voicing support for the recent violent unrest outside a planned asylum seekers centre in Coolock.
Yesterday, Deputy McDonald confirmed she had contacted Gardaí about the video, noting that the man had threatened to “shoot me dead”.
She said the threat was an “escalation of targeted online abuse” that had been directed at her over the past year.
This morning, Gardaí investigating the threat confirmed they had arrested a man in his 20s.
He is being held at a Garda station in Dublin under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Deputy McDonald said there has been a “particularly vicious focus” on herself and Sinn Féin online over the past year.
“I’ve been trashed, I’ve been vilified and it’s politically inspired, it’s not accidental,” she said.
She said the online attacks are “very clearly” aimed at branding her a “traitor” in working-class areas.
