Gardaí examining social media threats against President Michael D Higgins

They said that "any suggestion" of violence will be treated as a "matter of serious concern" and "could potentially be subject to criminal investigation"

Gardaí have confirmed that they are examining a number of possible social media threats against President Michael D Higgins. A number of posts hitting out at the President have appeared online in recent days following President Higgins signing the Health Amendment No. 2 Bill into law, with the hashtag #NotMyPresident trending on Twitter after the bill was signed. The law permitted indoor dining to reopen for those who are fully vaccinated, accompanying under 18s and those who have recently recovered from Covid-19 on Monday morning. Gardaí confirmed to JOE on Monday that while the "context and veracity" of the posts have yet to be verified, An Garda Síochána are examining some "social media content which refers to the President". "An Garda Síochána does not comment directly on social media content the context and veracity of which remains to be verified however An Garda Síochána are examining some recent social media content which refers to the President of Ireland," a Gardaí spokesperson said. They added that "any suggestion" of violence will be treated as a "matter of serious concern" and "could potentially be subject to criminal investigation". "An Garda Síochána considers any suggestion in respect of the threat to use violence and or perpetration of violence in a general sense or against named individuals or organisations as a matter of serious concern and could potentially be subject to criminal investigation in respect of such matters," they continued.