Tech CEO in Hot Water for Threatening Trump

'Bring it secret service' has indeed brought Secret Service to PacketSled's Matt Harrigan
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 15, 2016 10:54 AM CST
Tech CEO in Hot Water for Threatening Trump
Pro tip: It's not a good idea to threaten a future president.   (Getty Images)

Passions ran high on election night, but perhaps too much so for the CEO of a San Diego cybersecurity startup. Per the Los Angeles Times, Matt Harrigan of PacketSled put up a now-deleted series of heated comments on Facebook (still visible in apparent screen captures on Reddit) as the election results trickled in, and among them were some rather disturbing remarks about President-elect Donald Trump. "I'm going to kill the president. Elect" reads one of the comments shown on Reddit, while another declares, in part: "Getting a sniper rifle and perching myself where it counts. Find a bedroom in the White House that suits you … I'll find you." Harrigan also remarked, "Bring it secret service."

PacketSled issued a statement Monday that it actually did "immediately [report] this information to the Secret Service" and that Harrigan has since been placed on administrative leave. The Secret Service, for its part, is aware of Harrigan's posts but isn't offering further comment, the special agent in charge of the San Diego office tells the San Diego Union-Tribune. The San Diego Cyber Center of Excellence has severed its association with Harrigan, who served on its board, and PacketSled, noting that "his views expressed recently on social media do not reflect those of our diverse organization." Harrigan took to Twitter on Sunday to reflect on his misstep, tweeting, "My humble apologies that a flawed joke has become public/out of context. My poor judgement does not represent the views of @packetsled." (Eric Trump on David Duke: He "deserves a bullet.")

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