Indiana man threatens U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, loses job

An Indiana man who sent a threatening message to U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell has been fired from his position as a manager for an Indianapolis laboratory company.

Swalwell, a Democrat from California, shared a screenshot on Twitter early Friday morning of a private message he received from a man named Jonathan Reeser.

The message said in part: “I HOPE YOU FAMILY IS RAPED AND MURDERED AND I HOPE YOU GET TIED TO THE BACK OF A TRUCK AND DRUG 10,000 MILES UNTIL YOU BODY IS RIPPED TO PIECES YOU SCUM. I WISH I SAW YOU IN PERSON ID BREAK YOUR (explicit) FACE SO FAST YOUD HAVE PLASTIC SURGERY AND NEVER LOOK THE SAME AGAIN.”

In his Twitter post, Swalwell asked: “Does anyone know Jonathan Reeser of Indiana? Why would he ... threaten to kill my family?” The post included a link to a profile on LinkedIn for a Jonathan Reeser. The LinkedIn page has since been deactivated.

Swalwell’s post garnered 6.7 million views as of Saturday afternoon. Many responses to his post urged Reeser’s employer, Indianapolis-based Patients Choice Laboratories, to take action.

The company announced in a statement on Twitter Friday afternoon that it had done just that.

“We were appalled by the recent comments made by one of our employees. We do not stand for, or condone, offensive or threatening behaviors,” the statement said. “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.”

Reeser could not be reached for comment.

Swalwell has tied the threat and others that he has recently received to what he called “smears” against him by U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

McCarthy, a Republican, has vowed to remove Swalwell from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and has accused him of having ties to Chinese spies.

News outlet Axios reported in 2020 that a suspected Chinese spy had helped raise money for the campaigns of several California politicians, including Swalwell, and had also recommended an intern for his office.

Axios reported that federal investigators alerted Swalwell to their concerns about the suspected spy in 2015 and that the congressman immediately cut off all ties to her. Swalwell has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Contact IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at 317-444-6081 or tony.cook@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @IndyStarTony.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana man threatens U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, loses job