The CEO of local cybersecurity startup PacketSled has resigned following an outburst on social media in which he threatened to take out President-elect Donald Trump with a sniper rifle.
Matt Harrigan, who founded PacketSled in 2013, wrote the comments on his Facebook account on the evening of the election. The account has since been deleted, but his comments were copied and posted on Reddit, another social media site.
“I’m going to kill the president. Elect,” Harrigan wrote.
When another Facebook user cautioned him about making comments that could attract the attention of the FBI or Secret Service, Harrigan wrote, “Bring it secret service.”
And still later: “Getting a sniper rifle and perching myself where it counts,” Harrigan wrote. “Find a bedroom in the White House that suits you, (expletive). I’ll find you.”
On Monday, PacketSled issued a statement on its website saying Harrigan had been placed on administrative leave.
“PacketSled takes recent comments made by our CEO seriously. Once we were made aware of these comments, we immediately reported this information to the Secret Service and will cooperate fully with any inquiries….These comments do not reflect the views or opinions of PacketSled, its employees, investors or partners.”
The company announced today that it had accepted Harrigan’s resignation and is searching for a replacement.
On Sunday, Harrigan turned to Twitter to apologize, saying his comments were meant as a joke.
“My humble apologies that a flawed joke has become public/out of context,” he said. “My poor judgement (sic) does not represent the views of @packetsled.”
PacketSled recently emerged from stealth mode with a $5 million Series A round in July. The company is developing a software platform to help businesses investigate and prevent hacker threats.
