YC President's Online Rant Sparks Threats Against San Francisco Supervisors

After Y Combinator President Garry Tan's tweet sparked controversy, its repercussions are persisting, particularly for three San Francisco supervisors who have become targets of threats.

(Photo : Garry Tan/Youtube)

Screenshot from'How Psychedelics will Change Society for the Better | with Dillan DiNardo of Mindstate Design Labs'

Receiving Threats

Following Tan's online rant, Aaron Peskin, Myrna Melgar, and Dean Preston received threatening letters at their homes this week. TechCrunch reported that the menacing nature of the letters has led these supervisors, along with two others, to file police reports.

Peskin shared a disturbing excerpt from the letter stating that he wishes a slow, painful death for him and his loved ones. Notably, the letter featured a photo of Tan, who had posted a tweet over the weekend addressing seven San Francisco supervisors responsible for overseeing local government services.

The message conveyed disdain towards individuals named Chan, Peskin, Preston, Walton, Melgar, Ronen, Safai, and Chan as a collective, with explicit and threatening language.

Expressing Remorse

Tan issued an apology following the controversial post, acknowledging that his attempt at a rap reference, particularly Tupac Shakur's 1996 song "Hit 'Em Up," was poorly received.

Tan expressed remorse, as reported by Medium, stating that he had hoped the rap reference would be understood but conceded that it was not a wise choice.

It's worth noting that Peskin does not attribute the threatening letter he received to Garry Tan. Instead, he believes it originated from an individual who has a history of sending similar threatening letters to the supervisors.

In October, Peskin, along with four other Jewish members of the board, received antisemitic postcards by mail. Peskin shared excerpts from the correspondence, stating that it was sent to "educate public servants" without malicious intent.

The recent threatening letter he received ended with a disclaimer stating it was sent to express a political opinion, with no intended threats.

Although Peskin has not personally met Garry Tan, he was among the San Francisco politicians criticized by Tan in a YouTube video for opposing Cruise's autonomous car introduction to the city. Cruise later lost its operating permit in California following an October incident involving a pedestrian.

Regarding Tan's now-deleted post on X, Peskin asserted that it inflicted harm on democratic discourse. Peskin underlined the damaging effect of Garry Tan's recently removed post on X, emphasizing its negative implications for democratic discourse.

As per Mission Local's report, he expressed a strong stance, deeming such behavior as unacceptable and detrimental to the democratic process.

Peskin went on to explain that the act of removing the tweet and offering an apology on Twitter didn't convince him, or the broader San Francisco community, that Tan had genuinely internalized the gravity of his actions, particularly considering the current societal and political climate.

Despite efforts to reach out to Tan through Y Combinator, there was no response at the time of publication. This situation adds an air of uncertainty about Tan's understanding and acknowledgment of the consequences of his online behavior.