Social media ‘activist' threatened to blow up garda after stealing asylum seeker's wallet

Sunday World

a day ago

Judge John Hughes found him guilty and ordered him to carry out 240 hours of community service to avoid a two-month prison sentence.
A SOCIAL media 'activist' threatened a garda he was going to 'get a bomb and blow him up' in a tirade of abuse after he was found carrying a stolen asylum seeker's wallet.
Anthony Boyle (33) hurled insults and drunkenly ranted about gardai 'letting foreigners in and arresting our own' as he was detained for possession of stolen property.
He had denied the charges at Dublin District Court, claiming he never insulted the gardai and that they falsified their evidence because his crime-related 'citizen journalism' online was a 'nuisance' to them.
Judge John Hughes found him guilty and ordered him to carry out 240 hours of community service to avoid a two-month prison sentence.
Boyle, of North Frederick Street, Dublin 1 was convicted of threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour, public intoxication and possession of a stolen wallet. A charge of also having a stolen laptop was dropped.Garda Ian Murphy said at around 1.30am on September 7 last year, he was called to South Great George's Street where he found Boyle outside a pub, slurring and holding himself up against railings. When asked about a wallet he had, Boyle presented it and said he had found it 'a week ago.'
There were five cards in the wallet and Boyle told gardai he did not know who the man on them was.
Garda Murphy suspected the wallet was stolen and arrested and handcuffed him. Boyle's demeanour 'changed completely' and he began abusing the garda.
'He said you're jokers, you're f**king scumbags, wanked on by the government,' Gda Murphy said. 'He referred to us as f**king faggots, that we are letting foreigners in and arresting our own.'
Boyle also told the garda: 'f**k your oul lad", 'foreign c**ts will get your family', and 'you will never get a wife… you c**ts will never be a proper guard.'
In cross-examination, defence barrister Garrett Casey said the accused had a 'significant online presence' and had commented on 'garda crime matters.' Gda Murphy said he was aware of Boyle but had never dealt with him before and denied that he was considered 'a nuisance.'
Another garda told the court Boyle said 'you are only a little faggot' and 'my Dad was a garda and unlike you, he wasn't a faggot.' When they helped him into the van, he said: 'I'm going to get a bomb and I'm going to blow you up.'
The court heard the cards in the wallet included Georgian ID and an international protection card. Immigration authorities had lost contact with this man, who now had an extradition warrant.
Boyle said in evidence he had been out playing drums with friends on the streets earlier that day when he saw an eastern European drummer had left and dropped his wallet on the ground. He said he picked it up and held onto it in 'good faith' to return it later. He denied being drunk and insisted he told the gardai he had found the wallet that day. He told the court the allegations about what he said were "vile" as his own father was an ex garda detective.
'I would never say that, it's abhorrent, preposterous and completely untrue,' he said.
'I have a bit of a presence on social media,' he said, including posting videos of 'police responses' and said 'gardai do not like being videoed.'
He said he was a trained first responder, a member of the Order of Malta and had been one of the first on the scene of the 2023 Parnell Square stabbings.
Judge Hughes said Boyle was saying the gardai were 'lying on oath and concocting their evidence in an attempt to have him convicted.'
'I don't find his evidence to be credible,' the judge said of Boyle.
The accused had no previous convictions. He was an engineer and IT consultant on a back-to-work allowance who did voluntary work in the community, Mr Casey said.
The court heard Boyle would be appealing the convictions.