Cybersecurity company CEO resigns after making Trump assassination threats on Facebook

Staff -

Matt Harrigan, founder and CEO of San Diego-based cybersecurity startup PacketSled, resigned after posting assassination threats about President-elect Donald Trump on Facebook, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

As the results came in on election night, Mr. Harrigan posted "I'm going to kill the president. Elect" on his Facebook account.

A friend commented, "You just need to get high," to which Mr. Harrigan wrote, "Nope, getting a sniper rifle and perching myself where it counts. Find a bedroom in the White House that suits you, [expletive]. I'll find you."

Another Facebook friend told Mr. Harrigan he could be tracked down by federal authorities, and he replied, "Bring it secret service."

Mr. Harrigan has since deleted his account, but photos of the posts remain on Reddit.

On Nov. 13, Mr. Harrigan took to Twitter to apologize. "My humble apologies that a flawed joke has become public/out of context. My poor judgement (sic) does not represent the views of @packetsled," he tweeted. He later tweeted again: "Customers, investors or the officers of PacketSled, I have no malicious intention toward the #POTUS and apologize to all for my lack of judgement (sic) and offensive commentary. I wish you all well."

On Nov. 14, PacketSled issued a statement saying Mr. Harrigan's comments "do not reflect the views or opinions of PacketSled, its employees, investors or partners" and that it "immediately reported [the] information to the Secret Service."

The next day, PacketSled accepted Mr. Harrigan's resignation. Chief Technology Officer Fred Wilmot will serve as interim CEO until a permanent replacement is found.

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