A man in Indiana was fired after apparently making death threats to Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), his former employer posted on Twitter.
Swalwell posted a screenshot of a message allegedly sent by the man, alongside what he has called a stream of death threats targeting him. The man seemingly wished Swalwell and his family to be murdered, the screenshot showed.
Swalwell posted on
Twitter on Friday afternoon, stating: “Last night an employee of @PCLabs in Indiana threatened to kill me and my family following @SpeakerMcCarthy’s smears against me,” the lawmaker wrote. “Patients Choice Laboratories has since terminated that employee. On behalf of my wife and three small children, I am very grateful.”
Patients Choice Laboratories, a lab focused on infectious disease, pharmacogenetics, and toxicology,
posted a statement on their employee who allegedly made the threats named Jonathan Reeser.
“We were appalled by the recent comments made by one of our employees,” the company’s statement said. “We do not stand for, or condone, offensive or threatening behaviors. Not only do these comments violate our social media policy, but they violate our company’s moral and ethical standards and will not be tolerated.”
The company added after an internal investigation the employee was terminated effective immediately and no longer affiliated with the company.
In one screenshot posted to Swalwell’s
Twitter, allegedly sent to him on LinkedIn from an Indiana man named Jonathan Reeser, pointed various expletives and threats at him.
Swalwell also posted a
voicemail allegedly sent to him from another person on Thursday, in which the person wished Swalwell to “be hanged by the neck until death.”
He also posted a
clipping from a San Francisco Chronicle article, which cited an anonymous FBI source familiar with the briefing, in which the source said “Swalwell was completely cooperative and under no suspicion of wrongdoing.” The article continued, “It was a defensive briefing. Information was obtained where we do a duty to warn … that he may be targeted by a foreign government.”
It was not immediately clear if any of the threats were being investigated by authorities.
