Indianapolis company fires worker after threat to congressman

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana man is without a job after being accused of making a death threat against U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell.

The whole situation played out on social media.

At 1:52 a.m. Eastern Friday, Swalwell from California posted to this to Twitter:

The tweet contained a screen grab of a profanity laced message Rep. Swalwell received:

The threat came hours after new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy specifically said he planned to block Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee.

“If you got the briefing I did from the FBI, you wouldn’t have Swalwell on any committee, and you’re going to tell me other Democrats couldn’t fill that slot? He cannot get a security clearance in the private sector, so would you like to give him a government clearance?” McCarthy said Thursday night.

Just a few hours after Swalwell’s initial tweet, Indianapolis company Patients Choice Laboratories acted.

They released a statement on social media that said, “We were appalled by the recent comments made by one of our employees. 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. After an internal investigation, the individual has been terminated effective immediately and is no longer affiliated with the company.”

The statement did not name the employee they fired.

I-Team 8 asked the FBI office in Indiana if they were investigating the death threat.

They told I-Team 8 that it’s their policy to neither confirm, nor deny the existence or nonexistence of federal investigations.

U.S. Capitol Police reported in 2022 that members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have seen an increase in threats since 2016.