McGregor claims that he is being made a “scapegoat” following riots

MMA star Conor McGregor has claimed there is an attempt to scapegoat him following recent social media posts surrounding immigration.

In a series of posts on Twitter prior to the riots, McGregor claimed that “Ireland is at war” and after news broke of the stabbing on Parnell Square, he tweeted “there is grave danger that should never be here in the first place.”

“Truth they don’t want to speak,” McGregor posted on Wednesday.

“Attempt to scapegoat me all you wish,” he wrote.

“If it makes you feel better, I will take it.”

In a statement published in British newspaper The Guardian on Wednesday, McGregor said “I am praying that the streets will remain calm and peaceful. We Irish are known for our beautiful hearts, and we have a proud history of not accepting racism.”

“I do strongly believe our leaders must address this issue head-on with serious policy reforms regarding Ireland’s immigration and refugee processes. This is not a time for debate and posturing, our elected leaders must act in the best interest of Ireland’s citizens and our beloved country’s future,” he wrote.

On Tuesday, it was reported that McGregor’s tweets are under garda investigation as part of the official investigation into the riots.

McGregor’s tweets have been criticised by politicians, with Labour’s justice spokesperson Aodhán Ó Ríordáin telling RTÉ News “I think these tweets are incredibly irresponsible for someone who has ten million followers on Twitter alone to be whipping up this level of poison and hate.”

“He knows what he is doing, he is not stupid and for him to say that ‘Ireland is at war’ to his following is incredibly irresponsible,” he added.

Green Party MEP Ciáran Cuffe said “people in positions of power and privilege such as Conor McGregor should reflect on how their social media postings may have contributed to what happened on Dublin’s streets.”

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said that all major social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok were cooperating with the Gardaí as part of their investigation, but Twitter was not. 

“Social media companies, in particular TikTok and Meta, were responding, engaging with Gardaí and taking down these vile posts as they came up. Twitter did not. They didn’t engage. They did not fulfil their own community standards,” she said on Wednesday.