Sean Maguire, Sequoia’s capital partner, is once again drawing unwanted attention to the prominent venture firm after he accused a Palestinian student of being behind the Dec. 13 mass shooting at Brown University and the killing of an MIT professor.

In the since-deleted posts on X, Maguire speculated that “it appears” the student was the perpetrator, pointing to Brown “actively cleaning up his online presence.” In fact, authorities identified the shooter as Claudio Manuel Nues Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national who was later found dead in a New Hampshire storage facility. Brown officials said they removed the student’s digital footprint as a precaution against malicious speculation.

Fast Company Published Maguire’s two deleted posts on Friday (he has previously left inflammatory material online and not deleted it Comments (He suggested that the MIT professor was targeted for being Jewish). The incident followed months of controversial posts targeting Muslims and pro-Palestinian activists, including calling New York City Mayor-elect Zahran Mamdani an “Islamist” in July. The post led to a swift online response, with nearly 1,200 founders and tech industry professionals signing on. An open letter Pushing Sequoia to take action. An open letter later surfaced Assistant Maguire.

The latest episode has raised questions about whether Sequoia’s new leadership — managing partners Alfred Lynn and Pat Grady, who took over last month — can control or rein in Maguire’s social media activity. Chief Operating Officer Soumya Bulbul Left the firm According to previous reporting by the Financial Times, about Sequoia’s inaction regarding Maguire’s anti-Muslim comments in August. Former managing partner Rolof Botha, who resigned in November, defended Maguire’s conduct during an interview in TechCrunch in October, calling Sequoia a believer in its partners’ right to “free speech.”

“Internally, we celebrate diversity of opinion, and we need ‘sharp’ people within Sequoia,” Botha said, referring to Maguire. He suggested that Maguire has a “certain profile” that appeals to some founders. Maguire has led investments in a number of defense tech and AI startups, and reportedly has deep ties to Elon Musk’s companies, including NeuralLink, SpaceX, Boring. Company, X, and Z manage Sequoia’s investment.

Botha, however, admitted to the trade on Maguire’s express word. “Does it come with a trade-off? Yes, it does,” he said.

Lynn and Grady have not publicly addressed Maguire’s behavior since taking over.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations has called for Maguire’s firing, telling Fast Company that his allegations are “deeply irresponsible and incredibly dangerous.”

TechCrunch has reached out to Sequoia for comment.