Man charged for sending seizure-inducing tweet to journalist with epilepsy

A Maryland man has been arrested on a federal cyberstalking charge of sending a Dallas-based magazine reporter an image on Twitter intended to trigger an epileptic seizure.

Federal officials say twenty-nine-year-old John Rayne Rivello, of Salisbury was arrested in Maryland on Friday on a criminal complaint filed in Dallas.

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The complaint was filed in December by Kurt Eichenwald, a Newsweek reporter who has epilepsy and was sent a strobe image to his Twitter account on Dec. 15 intended to trigger a seizure. Included with the image was the message: “You deserve a seizure for your posts.”

The image was apparently sent in response to Eichenwald’s outspoken criticism of then-President-elect Donald Trump.

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READ MORE: Reporter who has epilepsy seeks ID of Twitter user who sent tweet which caused seizure

Eichenwald thanked federal and Dallas law enforcement for the break in the case.