A Bay Area congressman said he received a social media threat and it appears to come from a former member of the 49ers.
Rep. Eric Swalwell posted a screenshot of a direct message on Twitter from an account associated with former San Francisco 49ers fullback Bruce Miller. The message read "would you rather Guantanamo or just execution." It also included an expletive and the word "traitor."
Swalwell said Wednesday his family and staff are deeply disturbed and he reported the threat to Capitol Police.
Miller appeared to post a series of tweets sent from his Twitter account Thursday. He appeared to fess up to sending the private message. But he added that his message was in no way a threat and instead called it a "harmless game of would you rather."
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Miller said that Guantanamo or execution is the punishment "for the treason you’ve so aggressively participated in trying to frame the sitting president."
Swalwell released a more detailed statement Friday morning:
"My family and staff are deeply disturbed by the threat of execution made to me by former San Francisco 49er Bruce Miller earlier this week. More concerning is that Miller has a history of arrests and convictions for violence. As a lifelong 49ers fan, I also appreciate the team’s leadership in reaching out to share their concerns.
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"Threats of political violence are unacceptable, but they will never silence me from defending democracy. My platform has always been to resolve our differences by voting, not by violence.
"I invite my Republican colleagues, who continually remain silent about the violent environment in which we govern, to join me in condemning political threats."
