By Natalia Rueda Over the weekend, the streets of Dublin were filled with protests, violence and mayhem after an unidentified man stabbed five people, including three children, at a local school on Thursday, November 23. But the demonstrations quickly turned into violent riots, which caused smashing, looting of stores and arson.
As news of the attack spread, Conor McGregor took to Twitter to express his outrage, but his messages quickly turned into hate speech that is now being investigated by Irish police. Following the tragedy, McGregor took to social media to call for “torture and death” for the suspect, further inciting hatred and division.
His tweet hinted that the suspect was a foreigner, which fueled rumors and tensions surrounding the riots. However, authorities have not disclosed the suspect’s nationality and it is unclear what evidence McGregor based his tweet on.
He also criticized Irish leaders and their immigration policies, stating that “this is happening because we are now being left to fill our cities and communities with people we didn’t invite” and calling for change. However, his rhetoric soon turned to messages of hatred towards immigrants, particularly those from the country of Algeria.
Irish Garda Commissioner Drew Harris referred to the riots and false information being spread on the Internet, condemning the violence as “disgraceful” and fueled by “a faction of hooligans driven by far-right ideology.” McGregor responded to Harris’ statement, urging action and change to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
In response to that tweet posted by Paul Golding, McGregor said, “I understand that a step needs to be taken to ensure the change we need. And fast.”