Richard McGreevy, 28, has been charged in connection with an online video that contained threats to kill Sinn Féin President TD Mary Lou McDonald.
McGreevy, with an address at Whitechurch Place, Rathfarnham, Co Dublin, appeared before the Dublin District Court this morning, July 19.
An Garda Siochana announced on Thursday night that the man who was arrested at a residence in South Dublin earlier that day as part of an investigation into threats made online against a public representative and a Senior Garda Officer had been charged.
McGreevy was charged under Section 5 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997; he is accused of making threats to kill or cause serious harm to McDonald.
According to The Irish Times, there was a second and unrelated charge of failing to appear at Dublin District Court in accordance with previous bail conditions.
In court on Friday, Detective Sergeant Gareth Kane gave evidence of McGreevy's arrest, charge, and caution, and said that McGreevy made no reply to the charge of threatening to kill or seriously harm McDonald.
The Irish Examiner reports that in court, Detective Sergeant Kane claimed that McGreevy “broadcast on TikTok that he was going to kill a TD, and he incited violence against the commissioner of the garda [Drew Harris] and other gardaí."
At that point, McGreevy spoke up and addressed the judge: "I was angry that day, I was so angry that day, I’ve already explained this.
"I put that up; I didn’t mean it to go so viral."
The court heard on Friday that McGreevy had a "difficult" and "chaotic" childhood, and defence solicitor Kevin Tunney suggested that McGreevy is a "loner." McGreevy is not a member of any organization or gang, the court heard.
McGreevy faces up to ten years in prison if he is convicted of the charge.
Legal aid was granted to McGreevy, who was not granted bail and was remanded in custody pending directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
He will have his next hearing on July 26 at Cloverhill District Court.
The charge comes on the foot of a complaint lodged by McDonald on Wednesday after the video allegedly filmed by McGreevy circulated online.
In a video seen by IrishCentral, a man wearing a makeshift balaclava films himself responding to the recent disorder in Coolock, north Dublin in an expletive-laden and threatening tirade.
"Petrol bomb the f--- out the lot of them, lads. Get up," the man says in his video.
He goes on to describe Garda Commissioner Drew Harris as a "prick" and encourages viewers to "Take his whole throat, lads. Take Drew Harris's throat off."
He added: "F--- Drew Harris. He'll be getting shot. He'll be getting f---ing blasted, I swear to god on that. He'll be getting shot before the end of the year."
He continued: "And see Mary Lou? I'll shoot her meself for free, I will, yeah. I'll do her for f---ing free, I will, yeah.
"F---ing little rats."
The man concludes his video by saying "Gavin Pepper for f---ing President. Get up."
The video was reportedly posted to the man's personal TikTok page which denoted his name and showed his full face in other videos. While TikTok says it has removed the video, it continues to be shared by various other accounts on different platforms.
McDonald said on Wednesday that the "totally unacceptable" online threat "represents an escalation of targeted online abuse directed at me over the last year."
She further said on Thursday: "It is not acceptable in our society that people feel at liberty to throw their weight around like that and threaten to kill democratically elected politicians - or, by the way, anybody else.”
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