Anti-immigration campaigner cleared of false claim charge

A high-profile, anti-immigration campaigner has been cleared of a charge of making a false claim that an asylum seeker exposed himself on a bus to a teenage girl.

Kirk Loco (45) of Waverly Meadow, Rathnew, Co Wicklow had pleaded not guilty at a sitting of Bray District Court to distributing or publishing a threatening or grossly offensive communication about a Palestinian asylum seeker with intent to cause harm.

The alleged offence was a post published by the accused on his X (formerly Twitter) account on 21 June 2024.

It claimed an intoxicated migrant living in Trudger House, Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow had exposed himself to a 14-year-old girl on a 133 bus between Dublin and Wicklow the previous day.

Mr Loco was charged with an offence contrary to Section 4 of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 – known colloquially as Coco's Law which was implemented following the tragic suicide of Nicole "Coco" Fox in 2018 after enduring severe online abuse and bullying.

The post, which contained a photo of a male asleep on a bus, encouraged others to share the details of the incident.

It also stated that anyone who welcomed such men to Newtownmountkennedy or made donations or promoted togetherness and integration of them into the local community were to blame.

They were also accused of "cheering on pedophilia (sic)."

The post also tagged a number of high-profile, anti-immigration activists.

Bus evidence

CCTV footage from the bus showed an international protection applicant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, moving into a seat with a young woman during the journey.

A short time later, she went downstairs to speak to the driver who stopped the bus and came upstairs to speak to the witness.

Another passenger – a 14-year-old girl – gave evidence that she was approached by another woman on the bus who warned her about a man exposing himself.

The teenager said the man’s belt seemed open and she could see some pubic hair.

Dismissing the charge against Mr Loco, Judge John Cheedle said it was clear that the alleged victim was "a poor historian" and his evidence was not simply credible.

Judge Cheedle noted that he had testified he was looking for a phone charger and that his phone had slid under the woman’s seat.

The judge said he believed, like the bus driver, that the man was pretending to be asleep because he knew he had "crossed the line" and feared he was in trouble.

The judge said it was clear that he had approached the first female and that the contact was "clearly unwelcome" and more than likely of a sexual nature.

He said the offending tweet was based on a message sent to a WhatsApp group in which a woman claimed her young sister had told her about what happened on the bus.

Judge Cheedle said the reference to paedophilia probably resulted "from Chinese whispers".

"If we substituted 'sexual harassment’ for ‘paedophilia’, I don’t think any of us would be here," the judge remarked.

He also said that he did not believe the victim was identifiable from the photo.

No ill will

The judge said he accepted the defendant’s evidence that he bore no ill will personally towards the man.

In evidence on the second day of the trial on Friday, Mr Loco said he believed the content of the message sent to a private group on WhatsApp, which had shocked him, was true.

Mr Loco said the woman who sent the message was rattled and stressed and seemed anxious "to get the information out".

He told the court he had verified the claim as much as he could as he did not want to put something out "willy-nilly".

The court heard he was someone who took issue with the Government’s policy on migration and engaged in citizen journalism and political activism.

Mr Loco said he was constantly scanning media reports and documenting crimes by immigrants because he did not like "the direction the country is going in" and felt compelled "to speak up."

The court heard he had logged 700 such crimes over five months in 2025.

"It’s not a hobby. I see it as a second job but I’m not making a profit on it," he observed.

However, he stressed he was not targeting any specific "demographics".

'Detrimental' effect on mental health

Mr Loco said his work on the issue had been "hugely detrimental" on the mental health of his wife and himself and he had lost family and friends.

He admitted attempting to take his own life after "two years of persecution" by political opponents including graffiti near his home which branded him a "racist scum".

Mr Loco said every single aspect of the tweet had turned his life "upside down" but he still believed its content to be true.

He told his counsel, Laoise de Brún BL, that a statement he had made to gardaí when he had made a claim of being harassed himself, in which he admitted controlling his X account, was being used against him.

Under cross-examination by prosecution solicitor, Rory Staines, he admitted that he had not spoken to anyone on the bus.

Asked if his tweet was based on hearsay, Mr Loco replied: "I wouldn’t say that. I believed her".

He denied that he had "put his own spin" on the information he had received in the WhatsApp message.

During sharp exchanges Mr Staines pointed out that the man had not exposed himself to a 14-year-old girl as claimed by the defendant.

Mr Loco said there was evidence that she had seen his pubic hair.

"I certainly didn’t think it meant his left big toe," he added.

Described gardaí as 'scumbags'

In response to claims that he had effectively called the man on the bus, who had no interaction with the teenage girl, a paedophile, Mr Loco replied that he would consider an adult who exposed themselves to a minor to be one.

When it was suggested that he could have called gardaí if he was concerned about what happened, the defendant said he would have been told that it is "none of your business".

Mr Loco said he was entitled to his opinion when it was pointed out that he had described gardaí as "scumbags" in a text.

He said he wanted to highlight the case of a man, whose background status was unknown to the Irish authorities, like 33,000 other migrants in IPAS centres, which he believed in good faith had exposed himself to a teenage girl.

In a closing submission, Ms de Brún said the offending tweet was "substantively true".

She said the defendant had intended no harm to the man and did not even know him.

Ms de Brún said claims that Mr Loco was stoking fear were irrelevant.

She said it was not known exactly what happened to the first woman as she never came forward but it was enough for her to complain to the bus driver.

The barrister said the case "could not be more political" as it involved different views about the integration of immigrants into communities which were protected under the Constitution.

She claimed Mr Loco had "did his best" to verify what he posted "in the context of political discourse".

However, Mr Staines said the content of the tweet had differed substantially from what had been sent in the WhatsApp message and was based essentially "on hearsay".

Mr Staines said it was grossly offensive to accuse someone of being a paedophile.

While the defendant was perfectly entitled to bring his views on migration to the public, he said Mr Loco was attempting "a trial by social media" and would have to live with the consequences of that.

'Delighted' with outcome

Speaking after the ruling, Mr Loco said he was delighted with the outcome of the case.

He added: "I just want to kind of get on with my life. I want to keep on doing what I’m doing. I will, of course, be a lot more careful going forward. I don’t want to go for a repeat of this."

His barrister, Pádraig Lansch, said it was "a good day for freedom of speech in Ireland".