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Updated 9.40am
THE ANTI-AUSTERITY Alliance has expelled a councillor who threatened to cut a political activist’s throat.
The Limerick branch of the AAA had asked John Loftus to resign as a Limerick city councillor last night after he sent a threatening Facebook message to local activist Greg Doran last Sunday morning.
The message read:
I tried to be nice. The next time I see you I’lll [sic] cut your fuckin throat. Insult me & you are dead. See you Monday.
Doran subsequently posted the private message to Twitter:
Loftus was requested to resign after the AAA Limerick branch met last night.
Having failed to attend the meeting and to so far accede to the resignation request, the party said this morning that it was immediately removing the councillor’s AAA membership.
In a statement this morning, the AAA Limerick branch described Loftus’ message as a “catastrophic misjudgement” from a public representative and said he is no longer considered a member of the party.
Activists felt that anything less than resignation as a councillor would not really be credible given the strong opposition in the community to threats, intimidation and violence, and would leave a question mark as to whether Cllr. Loftus or the AAA really treated this situation with the seriousness it deserves.
The meeting also felt that the qualified apology which Cllr. Loftus offered in the media yesterday demonstrated that he has indeed failed to register the seriousness of the situation. There is no context that justifies the threats he made.
Loftus could not be reached for comment this morning.
Despite being expelled from the AAA he is under no obligation to resign his council seat and can serve as an independent for the remainder of his term.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie yesterday, he expressed confidence he would not be thrown out of the AAA:
I doubt if I’ll be thrown out of the party. I’ve been here from the start.
Local councillor Cian Prendiville had said last night that if Loftus refused to resign he would no longer be considered a member of the AAA.
The threatening message was prompted by a row between Doran and Loftus over party funding.
Loftus described sending the message as a “moment of madness” and apologised yesterday, insisting he would “never hurt anybody in my life”.
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The loss of your brother was a tragic event. The emotional loss you are experiencing must be immense.
We cannot fathom the pain you are going through. You are very brave.
Thank you for sharing, there is no doubt your words will have a positive outcome for other families and wider society in general.
Heartbreaking.
I can’t imagine your heart ache. I have followed Alex’s story in the media and was always struck by what a beautiful boy he was. I agree with you that the sentences received were a joke. His life is worth infinitely more than that and I’m so glad that you are talking about him. It will keep his memory alive and it just might help someone. Keep talking about him. Be gentle with yourself and each other, especially over the holidays. Your loss is huge. Strength and peace to you and your Mum.
If you choose to purchase and consume drugs from the street you know the risks. Thinking like that diminishes personal responsibility which is the ONLY thing that can prevent deaths like this young man.. Even if the drug actually was 2CB like they thought, it’s still a ridiculously dangerous substance to consume and has caused numerous deaths worldwide.
Tragic story. But could you please stop using “cardiac arrest’ and ‘heart attack’ interchangeably, they’re completely different things? It makes you look lazy and confuses the story of what actually happened.
Jesus, get off your high horse!
Thanks for your comment. I’ll re-read the story now with your insight and gain so much more. To the author, whatever gets you through.
@David: Looks like you’ve joined me on that high horse. Attack me for asking for clarity if you like, I care about what actually happened. Look at the Carrie Fisher story with the same laziness, it means we have no idea what actually happened to either of them You seem to think that means I care less than you which is ridiculous.
@filthypete: Do you think the author is the bereaved?
Blow it out your hole you jackeen pr!ck
@David: dont do blow out ur ass dave it’ll mess up ur life
Drugs are bad….m’kay…
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