Kathy Griffin is one of the many people pipe bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc was harassing with threats online, but the comedian had no idea until CNN’s KFile reached out to her to let her know.
Griffin on Tuesday said KFile contacted her for a story about Sayoc’s history of threatening prominent left-leaning figures on Twitter. Through the media outlet, she learned that Sayoc had been harassing her online, too.
“There are tweets I wasn’t even aware of until @KFILE reached out to me. How the bomber was allowed to keep his account is beyond me, truly horrible.”
Sayoc, 56, is accused of mailing at least a dozen suspicious packages likely containing pipe bombs to those who are critical of President Donald Trump. The targets included the CNN New York headquarters, Hillary Clinton, former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and actor Robert De Niro.
Police arrested Sayoc last week after investigators linked a fingerprint on a package sent to Waters to a DNA sample from a previous arrest in Florida.
Griffin told CNN’s KFile that she didn’t see Sayoc’s tweets because she receives so many threats online. She also said that the FBI paid her a visit and told her that Sayoc was looking for a way to reach her.
Griffin was one of at least 50 public figures and news organization identified by KFile as Sayoc’s targets of online harassment.
The comedian has become one of Trump’s most prominent enemies after the comedian tweeted a photo of herself posing with a fake severed head made to look like Trump. She initially apologized for the photo, which got her fired from hosting CNN’s New Year Eve’s show, but she retracted the apology in April, citing her First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
Fox News pundit Rochelle Ritchie, who was not identified in KFile’s report, revealed in a tweet last Friday that she too was threatened by a Twitter account apparently operated by Sayoc.
“So you like make threats,” the account tweeted to Ritchie on Oct 11. “We Unconquered Seminole Tribe will answer your threats.We have nice silent Air boat ride for u here on our land Everglades Swamp .We will see you 4 sure.Hug your loved ones real close every time you leave home.”
She reported the threats to the company for review but was told that they did not violate Twitter’s rules against “abusive behavior.”
After Ritchie’s tweet went viral, Twitter issued an official apology and admitted that it made a mistake. In private, the company told Ritchie in an email that their initial response to her report was “sent in error.”