Nationalist politicians are among those who have received letters from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) over their participation in a protest blocking an Orange Order march on Portadown’s Garvaghy Road.
On Thursday, a senior PSNI officer confirmed the service was issuing letters to those “reasonably suspected” of having committed a criminal offence in relation to the dispute in the Co Armagh town.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill was among several Sinn Féin representatives who stood on the Garvaghy Road with more than 1,000 protesters to prevent Orangemen walking along the nationalist road from Drumcree church on the morning of Sunday, September 27th.
Unionist politicians have led calls for O’Neill’s arrest.
READ MORE
Sinn Féin issued a statement on Thursday evening, confirming that “a number” of elected representatives and party members have received letters from police.
It declined to comment on which individuals had received the correspondence.
“Sinn Féin have stood with the residents of the Garvaghy Road for the last two weeks in the face of provocation and the threat of an unwanted Orange march through their community,” it said.
“Standing up for what is right is always the right thing to do.”
[ From local row to peace-process shambles: How the Drumcree standoff developedOpens in new window ]
Police refused to comment on how many letters were being sent or the names of suspects. People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll confirmed in a statement that he had received one.
The standoff entered its twelfth day on Thursday.
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck said a team had been “methodically working” through evidence collected so far in the “large scale” investigation.
“This work will now proceed to the next phase where individuals will receive letters regarding the interview process,” he added.
SDLP Assembly member Justin McNulty, who has not received a letter but is expecting one, is among those who took part in the protest on September 27th.
He stood linking arms on the front row of protesters to stop Orangemen walking the road for the first time in 28 years.
The MLA for Newry and Armagh – who was last week deselected by his party to run in next year’s Assembly election – said a “police letter is not going to hurt me”.
“Fundamentally, I feel I did the right thing by the residents of the Garvaghy Road who were fearful and who believed their rights were being trampled on,” he told The Irish Times.
“When the sirens started going off that Sunday morning, all of us at the front were very scared. We thought they (the police) were coming through with the shields and the batons.
“Thankfully there was no violence. Our greatest right is to protest for what is right.”
O’Neill is due to face a no-confidence motion in the Assembly next week.
She has defended her actions and told the Assembly Chamber on Monday, “when the law is wrong, I will stand firmly against it.”
DUP leader Gavin Robinson has called on police to act “without fear or favour” in its investigation.
“A political title is not a shield, and no one is above the law,” he said.
“For anyone found to have broken the law, the consequences must be the same, whether that is for a First Minister or anyone else.”
People Before Profit MLA Carroll said he had been invited by police to attend a voluntary interview under caution in connection with protests during the stand-off.
“I make no apology for standing with the residents of the Garvaghy Road,” he said.
“For almost three decades, this community has said no to a sectarian march being forced past their homes.
“When ordinary people peacefully stand together to defend their community, that is not criminality.
“It is the same civil disobedience that won every gain working-class people have ever made, from the suffragettes to the civil rights movement to the right to strike.”
Carroll said he will seek the advice of his solicitor.
