21/04/2026
The family of Bloody Sunday victim William McKinney has welcomed the conviction of a far-right protester after receiving a death threat through social media during the first days of the Soldier F trial.
Dean Portis was found guilty of two counts of improper use of a telecommunications network to send a message of a menacing character at Belfast Magistrates' Court on Monday 20th April 2026. He has been restrained from any further harassment of the victims ahead of sentencing in June 2026.
Mickey McKinney, brother of Bloody Sunday murder victim William McKinney, said:
"We welcome the decision of the court and hope that this conviction sends a clear message that those who attempt to threaten or cause fear to the Bloody Sunday families - or indeed any victim - will be held to account."
Ciaran Shiels, of Madden & Finucane, said:
"This is an important outcome for victims of online abuse and threatening behaviour. We are not going to tolerate any situation in which Bloody Sunday families or any other victims are threatened for demanding truth, justice and accountability."
Report by Inside the Courtroom NI - BELFAST MAN CONVICTED OF SENDING MENACING MESSAGES TO BROTHERS OF BLOODY SUNDAY VICTIM AND A JOURNALIST
A Belfast man was today (Mon) convicted of sending menacing messages to three brothers of a Bloody Sunday victim.
Following an hour-long contest at Belfast Magistrates Court, 41-year-old Dean Portis was also convicted of sending menacing messages to journalist Hugh Jordan after he covered the threats sent to the brothers of Willie McKinney.
Giving evidence on his own behalf, Portis, from Olive Street, denied that he intended either the Facebook post or the message to convey any threat.
The court heard that on 18 September last year, during the trial of Soldier F, Portis had shared an article from The Irish News, including a photograph of the McKinney brothers.
When he shared it, Portis added a gunshot, or explosion emoji, along with the words: “If yous continue to target the British Armed Forces including the PSNI, the consequences will be swift and deadly.”
“Yous have been warned,” the post concluded.
The three McKinney brothers, John, Michael and Joe, all made police statements where they outlined, in terms, that the post had caused them fear and concern.
“I take this threat seriously and fear that something could happen,” John McKinney outlined in his statement.
Willie McKinney, a 27-year-old printer from Westway in Creggan, was gunned down in Glenfada Park on Bloody Sunday as he raced to assist another shooting victim who was lying on the ground.
In their statements, the three brothers outlined how they used public transport to attend every day of the Soldier F trial but that Portis’ post caused them to fear they were being watched or followed and may be attacked as they travelled to Belfast.
In court today (Mon), their statements were all adopted into evidence and the only cross-examination conducted by defence counsel Aaron Fitzsimmons, was to express the defendant’s condolences and sympathies for their brother’s murder.
The messages directed at Mr Jordan came after he had written an article, which was then published in the Sunday World, covering the threats made to the McKinney brothers.
The court heard that in tagging Mr Jordan on his Facebook post on 22 October, Portis had criticised the contents of the article and claimed that a number of facts were incorrect.
After the journalist replied, Portis posted publicly that, “I can see why your colleagues get shot for running your mouth off.”
In giving evidence, Portis told his defence counsel that he “absolutely did not” mean for any threat to be conveyed and that he intended to highlight aspects of the story about him he felt were in error.
“I realise I probably have worded things wrong,” he told Mr Fitzsimmons.
In relation to the McKinney brothers, Portis maintained he had never met them, did not know them, never attended the Soldier F trial and that his post was not directed at them.
During the prosecutor’s cross-examination, she put to him that in his statement, Mr Jordan believed his messages were in reference to two if his colleagues, one who was shot and wounded and another who was murdered.
“So it’s a serious matter,” she suggested to Portis who claimed that he was not conveying anything menacing but rather that, “I’m simply saying that he was wrong.”
“The way I word things has been a problem for me my entire life, if I’m honest,” Portis told the court, “I didn’t mean in a violent or nasty way.”
He claimed that he used the bang, or explosion emoji in front of every post as that “highlights what I’m about to write.”
Turning to the post regarding the McKinney brothers, Portis denied that his post was directed at them.
Read more: https://madden-finucane.com/2026/04/21/mckinney-family-welcome-conviction-of-far-right-protester-for-the-improper-use-of-a-telecommunications-network-to-send-menacing-messages/
