An Aberdeen MP has said abuse towards politicians “cannot be tolerated” after a man who threatened to kill her appeared in the dock.
Paul Dawson admitted posting a picture of Kirsty Blackman on his Facebook page alongside threats to “skin” her and stated: “You are getting death”.
The 42-year-old claimed he did not want to kill anyone but added that he would if he “had to”.
The chilling threats prompted Ms Blackman – an SNP MP for Aberdeen North – to alert the police.
Noting that Dawson suffered from a “serious mental condition,” Sheriff Philip Mann made an order banning him from approaching Ms Blackman or loitering outside her constituency office.
“What happened was really scary,” Ms Blackman told the P&J.
“To be honest, I think people across the board need to remember that politicians are human beings and abuse like this cannot be tolerated at all.”
The MP also extended her thanks towards the police officers who investigated the case and brought it to court.
“I appreciated their hard work,” she added.
‘I do not want to kill you all’
Fiscal depute Jane Spark told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that at around 12pm on December 2 last year, Ms Blackman received a notification of a comment on her Facebook page from Dawson which read: “You haven’t responded to me yet…did you think I’d forget about it”.
Ms Blackman looked at her work emails and saw she had received an email from Dawson, so she responded saying that she would need an address from him before she could action any request from a constituent.
Dawson turned aggressive, telling her: “It doesn’t matter what address you clown…it was on my leaflet, but you probably weren’t paying attention.”
He went on to state that they should talk on social media so “everyone can see”, adding: “You are going to talk to me or I will email the rest of you too.”
Ms Blackman explained that she receives hundreds of requests a week from constituents and again told Dawson she’d be happy to help if he provided his address.
“I’ll kick you up the arse if I have to … and smile when doing time for it,” Dawson replied.
He then followed up by posting a screenshot of Ms Blackman’s Facebook page on his public profile and included several posts, stating: “Just one day … when I don’t think about killing … anyone.”
Dawson added: “I do not want to kill you all … but I will … if I have to,” before posting: “If you f*** with me again … I will skin you. F*** with me? You are getting death.”
Following this, Dawson then went on to say he could kill “half the city … quietly … at night … set fire to everything.”
‘It certainly wouldn’t be funny for her’
A series of messages followed in which Dawson makes threats towards a department at Royal Cornhill Hospital in Aberdeen, adding that if they “send the pigs…send 8 I’ll kill six.”
After reading these messages, Ms Blackman contacted the police to report Dawson’s behaviour.
However, on the same day, Dawson posted more comments of Facebook telling her: “You arnt getting away …I will camp out of your office and give toy s***,” and adding that Ms Blackman was “s*** out of luck.”
Dawson was identified as the man responsible for the messages and police arrested him and took him to Kittybrester Police Station.
Whilst under caution, Dawson then spontaneously stated that he knew the arrest was about “that politician” he had messaged.
“It made me laugh at the time, but she was maybe terrified, and it certainly wouldn’t be funny for her,” Dawson admitted.
He claimed that Ms Blackman had pushed him to message her as she wouldn’t meet him in person, adding that he was “coming for her” and “it will catch up with her”.
In the dock, Dawson pleaded guilty to one charge of posting comments of a menacing or threatening nature and committing a breach of the peace.
Accused does not have ‘strong political views’
His solicitor Michael Burnett told the court that his client was “not a well man” and accepted that the messages were “serious” in nature.
But added: “It was not personal in any way and not personally directed at Kirsty Blackman.
“Whoever had been the MP in that area would have been targeted.
“Mr Dawson does not have strong political views towards one party or an MP.”
Mr Burnett went on to state that his client was now undergoing treatment for his mental health struggles and his substance abuse issues.
Sheriff Mann told Dawson that he accepted that he would have been unlikely to behave in this way had he “not been suffering from a serious mental condition”.
“However, I would stress that your actions were completely out of order,” the sheriff said.
“You must try not to let your feelings result in this in future or a court will be less sympathetic.”
As an alternative to a custodial sentence, Sheriff Mann made Dawson, of Palmerston Road, Aberdeen, subject to a community payback order with supervision for 18 months and ordered him to carry out 75 hours of unpaid work.
The sheriff also put a non-harassment order in place, meaning Dawson cannot approach Ms Blackman or loiter outside her constituency office for two years.
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