CEO of US cybersecurity firm resigns after Trump threat

Republican nominee Donald Trump gestures during the final presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 19, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck
Republican nominee Donald Trump gestures during the final presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 19, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / 

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The CEO of a cybersecurity firm in San Diego has resigned after posting on his now-deleted Facebook page threatening comments about President-elect Donald Trump.

Matt Harrigan, who founded PacketSled, stepped down on Tuesday after his online postings prompted a backlash and calls for a probe.

The company said that it had accepted Harrigan’s resignation after he admitted to posting the online comments on election night November 8 as the shock outcome of the vote became clear.

“Once we were made aware of these comments, we immediately reported the information to the Secret Service and will cooperate fully with any inquiries,” the company said in a statement.

Harrigan in his expletive-laden online rant wrote that he would be “getting a sniper rifle and perching myself where it counts.”

He added, apparently addressing Trump: “Find a bedroom in the whitehouse (sic) that suits you (expletive). I’ll find you.”

He later apologized in a Twitter message saying his comments were a “flawed joke” taken out of context and that he had no “malicious intention” toward Trump.

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