An Irishman who trolled DUP leader Arlene Foster has been jailed in the UK for 22 months.
The man compared the Northern Ireland politician to a “dirty hooker” and told her to “kill herself”
Gerard Traynor from Dublin was arrested in January after he wrote a number of offensive posts that included and racist insults online.
Dublin Live reports that the 53-year-old targeted Mrs Foster and also sent abuse to the new Home Secretary in the UK, Priti Patel.
Mr Traynor pleaded guilty to 16 counts of sending threatening or grossly offensive malicious communications.
Traynor told the former North’s First Minister to kill herself calling for an “Armenian genocide of unionists and the killing of all Orange people”.
He also suggested that Mrs Foster kill herself or have the IRA blow her up. In a statement to police, Mrs Foster said:
“I expected a degree of commentary but these messages overstep the mark of free speech. I don’t know the sender, where he was or what his intentions were."
“I was concerned about my own movements, but at least I am in control of my own movements. My concerns were for my family and those around me.”
Traynor’s defence informed Manchester Crown Court that he battles with Asperger’s Syndrome and cited his turbulent early years.
Traynor has 11 past convictions for similar offences, including a suspended sentence in 2017 for “racially or religiously aggravated common assault”.
