California-based Intercom CEO Eoghan McCabe, whose company is a heavyweight in the artificial intelligence customer service space, faced backlash Wednesday after urging for the public execution of a man accused of stabbing a Ukrainian refugee on a North Carolina train.
“I do think that rapid, public executions for crimes like this are a spiritual goal that we should point ourselves to,” McCabe wrote in a post featuring a screenshot of the scene. “I worry about Western society if we can’t react in proportion to how evil this is.”
His comments led to a public spat with Dan Shipper, CEO and cofounder of media startup Every, who called McCabe out for his “pretty gross take.”
McCabe punched back by asking, “When was your last testosterone test?”
Shipper replied, “Oh, wow, I didn’t realize supporting public executions as spiritual goal was a side effect of [testosterone replacement therapy]. I thought it was just losing all your hair!”
McCabe, who is bald, replied: “All natural high T over here.”
One of four Intercom cofounders, McCabe hasn’t been shy about posting his political views and combative commentary on social media. He donated $200,000 to President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign and posted a picture of himself with the president at a David Sacks fundraiser in San Francisco last summer. Sacks is the chairman of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and is referred to as the White House AI and crypto czar.
McCabe works in San Francisco and lives in Berkeley. He also announced he would give $500,000 to various artists willing to paint victim Iryna Zarutska’s image in “high-visibility” urban areas.
“I am offering $500k in $10k grants to paint murals of the face of Iryna Zarutska in prominent U.S. city locations,” McCabe posted on X.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday he would donate $1 million to the mural cause.
The North Carolina killing also drew the attention of Trump and his allies, who have blamed Democrats for what they say is out-of-control crime in blue cities.
Critics say the senseless death of Zarutska, 23, could have been prevented if officials had kept a man with a long rap sheet and history of mental illness off the streets.
The alleged killer, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr., had been committed for schizophrenia and was arrested in 2025 for repeatedly calling 911 from the hospital.
The Aug. 22 attack is the latest flashpoint in the debate over whether cities like Charlotte are adequately addressing violent crime, mental illness, and transit safety. It has added to an ongoing political debate as Trump deployed the National Guard in Washington and Los Angeles and has threatened to go into Chicago and Baltimore, despite data showing violent crime in those cities had decreased.
CRIME IN US CITIES AS TRUMP AIMS TO EXPAND CRACKDOWN: LATEST COVERAGE
Brown was arrested at the scene and charged with first-degree murder.
Calls to Intercom and Shipper by the Washington Examiner were not returned.
