A Democratic commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission responded to a report that the agency's Republican chairman, Ajit Pai, was being subject to not only racists comments but also deaths threats which prompted him to cancel an appearance at a recent event.
Jessica Rosenworcel was asked about it Friday during a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" session.
The question was: "What do you think about the horrifically racist things people have said about Ajit Pai, as well as the numerous death threats and threats made to his family? Merits of Net Neutrality notwithstanding, do you think his treatment should be given more attention?"
Rosenworcel's response: "It's unacceptable. Under any circumstances."
Earlier this month, a report from Recode stated that Pai canceled a speaking engagement at a major technology industry event days before it was scheduled to place because of death threats.
The report said that federal law enforcement had looked into the situation, and other FCC offices would be briefed.
The nature of the threats are unclear, but it was the second time in several weeks that Pai has dealt with imminent security concerns.
The FCC briefly halted its meeting in December and evacuated the room in response to a security scare as the commissioners were about to vote to repeal the Obama-era net neutrality rules. Within minutes, the meeting reconvened, and the agency successfully killed the Internet regulations on a party-line vote, despite a great deal of opposition from Democrats, consumers, and technology giants.
Pai, who spearheaded the repeal effort, also received death threats during the public comment period.
Rosenworcel, one of two Democratic commissioners on the five-member, Republican-led panel, opposes the repeal.
