A man who threatened to kill an Aberdeen MP has avoided jail and been sentenced to a community payback order instead.
Paul Dawson admitted he had posted a picture of the SNP’s Kirsty Blackman on Facebook and added threats to ‘skin’ her and warned that ‘you are getting death’.
Ms Blackman then went to the police over the threats and has now told the Press and Journal that the abuse ‘cannot be tolerated’ after Dawson appeared in court.
The 42-year-old insisted he didn’t want to kill anyone but claimed he would if he needed to.
He’s now been banned from approaching Ms Blackman or being outside her constituency office in Aberdeen North.
Instead of a custodial sentence, he has instead been subjected to a community payback order with supervision for 18 months and ordered to carry out 75 hours of unpaid work.
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Speaking to the Press and Journal, Ms Blackman said: “What happened was really scary.
“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 court case happened a year on from the messages, with Ms Blackman noticing a comment on her Facebook page on December 2, 2023 which read: “You haven’t responded to me yet…did you think I’d forget about it”.
As part of the posts, Dawson said: “I’ll kick you up the arse if I have to … and smile when doing time for it.”
He then added: “Just one day … when I don’t think about killing … anyone.
“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.”
Sheriff Philip Mann decided against a custodial sentence because Dawson suffered from a ‘serious mental condition’.
He then added: “However, I would stress that your actions were completely out of order.
“You must try not to let your feelings result in this in future or a court will be less sympathetic.”
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