Open Letter Backs Sequoia's Maguire After Mamdani 'Islamist' Comments

By Conor Murray, Forbes Staff.
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Jul 09, 2025, 12:12pm EDT

A letter supporting Shaun Maguire, a partner at Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, amid backlash over his comments accusing New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has reportedly garnered hundreds of signatures—including top names connected to PayPal andSeamless—after nearly 1,000 tech founders demanded Sequoia take disciplinary action.

The new letter, reported by Business Insider, says Maguire’s comments on Mamdani “were not hate speech” and are instead “the reflections of a principled thinker and a partner to countless founders who span geographies, faiths, and political beliefs.”

The letter condemns tech founders who have demanded disciplinary action, stating the “calls to punish or remove him are part of a larger and worrying trend: ideological mobbing disguised as a moral virtue.”

Maguire told Business Insider on Tuesday an “unbelievable number of people” have reached out to support him, and he said he believes he is being targeted for his pro-Israel advocacy.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/07/09/open-letter-backs-sequoias-maguire-after-mamdani-islamist-comments/

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