The tweet sent to Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) was plain enough:
And it was sent “in the clear,” i.e., under the author’s real name. It didn’t take long for Swalwell to find out his special fan was Bruce Miller, a former NFL player (see his bio here).
Miller, a big guy with bulging biceps (photo, left), has a violent history. He was fired by the San Francisco 49ers after 5 seasons when he was arrested for assaulting a 70-year-old man and his middle-aged son. A year earlier, he was arrested for spousal abuse.
He’s also a cheater at the sport. After getting back into football again with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he was suspended for using performance-enhancing drugs.
Now 35, Miller won’t play professional football again, although he may get an opportunity to play on a prison team. Swalwell has referred the threat to law enforcement; as this just happened, it’s hard to say whether Miller will be prosecuted, but threats aren’t free speech protected by the First Amendment.