PSNI provided personal security advice to Stormont Assembly candidates amid concerns of threats and intimidation.
It came after Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coen attended a bomb scare event last month, where a pickup truck was hijacked at gunpoint.
UVF is associated with accidents and other recent safety warnings on the Warrenpoint and Belfast-Dublin Railroad.
A window smashed in the UUP leader’s constituency office in Portadown last week, hours after he decided to withdraw from the contested anti-Brexit protests in Northern Ireland.
Some candidates even claimed that their posters were stolen or burned.
Paul Doherty, the West Belfast Democratic Party candidate, said he and his team were approached by a group of men in the Schenkel area and said they were “not welcome”.
PSNI said it has contacted political parties to provide briefings on candidates for “crime prevention and personal safety” in the May assembly elections.
Chief Superintendent Moore Clark said the Northern Ireland Police Service is committed to doing everything in its power to ensure that all candidates participate fully in the upcoming Northern Ireland Assembly elections without harassment, intimidation and other forms of crime.
We thoroughly investigate incidents that have occurred to us, including removing and destroying election posters.
“We have reached out to political parties to proactively provide briefings and information to candidates on crime prevention and personal safety, and our officials will continue to provide support and advice locally throughout the campaign.
“We are asking all of our candidates to report any concerns to the police immediately in order to protect themselves, their staff and the public.
Last month, Mr. Quinn was forced to speak at a Hume Foundation event following a bomb scare in downtown Hoppen on Crumlin Road in North Belfast.
The Field Safety Notice is linked to strong opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
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Police believe there may be an escalation of loyalist protests against the Irish Sea trade border.
Writing in the Belfast Telegraph on Monday, Mr Quinn condemned the bomb warning as a “notorious echo of dark times” and said it “does not foretell the cause of society”.
While visiting Derry on Friday, Taoist Michael Martin condemned the incident, saying he “didn’t think twice” upon his arrival in Northern Ireland.
“I will continue to meet everyone in a spirit of cooperation and work for greater harmony and progress,” he told reporters.
“Democracy must always win, we always take advice from PSNI and An Garda Siochana and businesses must be free to participate, discuss and think.”
Source: Belfastlive
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