Piers Morgan and his eldest son, sports journalist Spencer Morgan, were the target of an online troll who harassed the two for almost six months with threats to have them both killed.
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Threatening the safety of his family
According to Piers, the threats first began on 3 August, and in one message, the cyberbully wrote:
Your (sic) a marked man. Calling the police, big tech or beefing up your security isn’t going to stop us getting to you, this isn’t a threat piers, it’s a promise. Your (sic) getting killed.
The man in question has since been arrested under the Malicious Communications Act and the frightening events have even prompted Piers to instal a panic button by his bed, at the suggestion of police. Piers has said:
People think it’s perfectly OK to make death threats to public figures on social media but it’s not —there has to be a line drawn, especially when family members are targeted. That’s why I reported it and I am grateful to the Met Police and Greater Manchester Police for taking it so seriously.
'Unbelievably vile and graphic messages'
A source close to the family has shed further light by saying:
This is a point of principle for Piers—he will not tolerate evil threats being sent to his loved ones.
And added:
A troll sent an unbelievably vile and graphic message to both Piers and Spencer, pledging to kill. An arrest has finally been made but the lengthy investigation is still ongoing. Piers hopes this evil troll ends up in prison where he belongs. Hopefully it’ll also act as a deterrent to other online abusers.