An NBC producer who tweeted sympathetic words for a man arrested for attempting to take a police officer's gun to shoot Donald Trump makes games, not news.
A Twitter storm erupted Wednesday after Matthew Mowrer tweeted "It could be argued that the dude who was hoping to assassinate Donald Trump is "a good guy with a gun."
His Twitter account has since been locked and Mowrer has not responded to media inquiries. He also removed his reference to being a "Producer on NBC's Ninja Warrior" from his Twitter bio. TheBlaze.com saved a screenshot of the tweet before it was protected.
The NBC connection drew immediate attention with calls for NBC News to fire him, although he does not work for the network's news division.
Mowrer's LinkedIn profile says he is a 2002 Temple University graduate with a film/cinema major who has worked the past two years an associate producer at NBCUniversal in Los Angeles. He started with NBCUniversal as a creative consultant for its Defiance TV series in 2011, his resume says.
Court documents released Monday alleged that Michael Stevens, 19, tried to grab the handle of a Las Vegas police officer's handgun after saying he wanted to get close to the GOP presumptive nominee for an autograph at a weekend rally Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas.
Stevens is from the United Kingdom and is in the country illegally after overstaying his visa, according to the papers.
A sample of Twitter reactions:
@nbc you need to answer for your rogue employee @MattMowrerSays ! This is UNACCEPTABLE! pic.twitter.com/LxP0ajwfRq
-- The Daily Dish (@TheDailyDish2) June 23, 2016
@LeahR77 So @MattMowrerSays MURDERING a political opponent is ok.
-- Danger Zone⚔ (@Lion_PartyUSA) June 23, 2016
Also thinks Trump supporters are "violent extremists". 🤔
Another leftist that should be put on watch list before he has a chance to go full martyr >@MattMowrerSays #gunsense https://t.co/UqRtq9hOB1
-- Mike Spade (@Sporty1546) June 22, 2016
You can lock your account, but you can't hide @MattMowrerSays. You're a typical Leftist - vicious, violent, insane. https://t.co/6x8peZKCeL
-- The Nice Me (@Reality_n_Truth) June 22, 2016
Enjoy dat unemployment. @MattMowrerSays @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/iZGl9ti1Rw
-- Dave S (@1979amish) June 22, 2016
