Councillors target of death threat
Comment left on Facebook page leaves council member ‘extremely concerned’
Auckland Council yesterday called in police after “appalling” death threats were directed at councillors in a Facebook post referencing the Christchurch mosque gunman.
Councillor Tracy Mulholland came across the threat, which was posted as a comment on the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance Facebook page yesterday morning.
“The guy that went on a shooting spree in Christchurch, he should [have] started in Auckland Council. Those lives don’t matter,” the comment said.
The mosque massacre of March last year left 51 people dead.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff told the Herald the matter had been referred to police.
“I am appalled by the death threats that have been directed at council staff and elected members,” he said.
“I am also disappointed that the Ratepayers’ Alliance chose to keep the death threats on their page despite repeated requests from the public for it to be pulled down.”
In response to Goff’s comment, a spokesperson from the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance told the Herald it was “totally untrue” that the alliance had chosen to keep the comment on the page.
“We couldn’t remove something we weren’t aware of. It’s a cheap shot from the mayor, and a blatant and disgusting attempt to smear our organisation.”
Mulholland, who is no stranger to “keyboard warriors”, said she was extremely concerned about her safety and the safety of her colleagues.
“One never knows if they are serious,” she said.
Despite the threatening and harmful nature of the comment, Mulholland said the post remained on the Facebook page for several hours.
An Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesperson told the Herald the organisation was also appalled.
“As soon as we were made aware of this disgusting comment, we referred it to the police.” Mulholland said such violent comments needed to stop. She had laid a complaint with police and contacted her local police station. A spokesperson said a complaint had been made and police would be making “follow-up inquiries”.