Gardaí are investigating threats made to Taoiseach Simon Harris and his family on social media at the weekend.
The post containing the threat was on a public Instagram account for several days. It was unclear whether it was then removed, as the account has since been switched to a private setting, meaning only followers could view posts shared by the account user.
Garda sources said they became aware of the post very soon after it was published, and that the Taoiseach’s office was informed. The threats were described as “especially sinister” as they contained references to both Mr Harris and his family, and to a weapon and extreme violence.
Garda Headquarters has confirmed it was aware of the post, adding an investigation had commenced. “An Garda Síochána are currently investigating this matter,” it said in a brief reply to queries. A spokesman for Mr Harris said his office did not comment on security matters relating to the Taoiseach.
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Later, Mr Harris issued a statement and said he wished to make “a few comments on trends we have been seeing”.
“The laws of the land apply to people online just as much as offline. There can be no hiding place for anyone seeking to threaten, attack or harm people, or to incite others to do so.
“Politicians have become a regular target, and it is on the brink of being viewed as acceptable or a normal part of the job. It is not acceptable. I get up every day and go to work and work as hard as I can. So do most politicians I know from all parties and none. Constant efforts to target us, demean us or dehumanise us should never be accepted, never be normalised, and always called out.
“I will never be deterred from doing my job as Taoiseach.
“Men and women of An Garda Síochana do us proud every day in their work, and I thank them for that. I thank the people right across this country for their kindness and decency – it means the world to me and my family.”
Gardaí now need to liaise with Instagram in a bid to establish the identity of the user.
Last month, a call was made to the Samaritans claiming a bomb had been placed at Mr Harris’s home, in Greystones, Co Wicklow. While that was a hoax call, gardaí went to the property and carried out searches while the Taoiseach’s wife and young children were present.
That episode followed a number of incidents in which masked men, under the guise of anti-migrant and anti-Covid vaccine protests, gathered outside the Harris family home earlier this year.
When Mr Harris’s house was targeted in May, he said people’s homes should be “out of bounds” to protesters, as such gatherings could be “intimidating” and “upsetting”.
[ Are gardaí powerless to act against far-right protesters at politicians’ homes?Opens in new window ]
Three suspects were later arrested and released without charge. An investigation into those gatherings is continuing.
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