Irish prosecutors are reportedly considering bringing charges against mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor for social media posts he made in late 2023 about the anti-immigration protests at Dublin which later escalated into violent clashes leaving dozens injured. Mr. McGregor has long been outspoken about restricting immigration to Ireland. 

According to the Irish Independent, law enforcement officials in the country have sent a completed file to prosecutors about Mr. McGregor’s social media posts and the alleged impact they had on the escalation of violence at the Dublin riot. The file is now in the hands of the Director of Public Prosecutions at the Irish Attorney General’s office, the agency responsible for bringing charges and trying criminal cases in the country. 

A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The New York Sun. 

In November 2023, three young Irish children and a childcare professionals were stabbed by a man originally from Algeria outside a primary school. One of the children who was stabbed spent more than nine months in the hospital following the attack. 

Just hours after the stabbing, hundreds of anti-immigration protesters rallied at Dublin. The protest quickly grew violent, with demonstrators attacking police officers by throwing fireworks and bottles. Vehicles, including police cars and city buses, were either damaged or destroyed, and several shops were looted during the riot. 

The same day, Mr. McGregor wrote on the social media website X that Ireland had a “grave danger” lurking within it in the form of migrants. 

“Innocent children ruthlessly stabbed by a mentally deranged non-national in Dublin, Ireland today. There is grave danger among us in Ireland that should never be here in the first place, and there has been zero action done to support the public in any way, shape or form with this frightening fact. NOT GOOD ENOUGH,” he wrote. 

The next day, he condemned the riot, saying that it “achieved nothing” for those looking to make change. 

Mr. McGregor had long been outspoken about politics in his home country. He announced on Thursday that he would be running for president of Ireland this year, mostly to fight a pact among members of the European Union to create new, more efficient immigration procedures to reduce the backlog and ensure new screening processes for migrants. He says that the president of Ireland must stand up against such a pact. 

“Who else will stand up to Government and oppose this bill? Any other Presidential candidate they attempt to put forward will be of no resistance to them. I will!” Mr. McGregor wrote on X. “As President, I would put forth this bill to referendum. Although I oppose greatly this pact, it is neither mine nor government’s choice to make. It is the people of Ireland’s choice! Always! That is a true democracy!”

Last week, Mr. McGregor visited President Trump at the White House to discuss what he sees as a migration crisis in his country. The UFC champion told members of the press corps from behind the briefing room podium that he wanted to speak to Mr. Trump about the immigration issue. 

“What has gone on in Ireland is a travesty,” Mr. McGregor said. “The illegal immigration racket is running ravage on the country. There are rural towns in Ireland that have been overrun in one swoop, that have become a minority [Irish] in one swoop.”

“The 40 million Irish-Americans … need to hear this because, if not, there will be no place to come home and visit. You know, Ireland is at the cusp of potentially losing its Irish-ness,” he said.