The National Geographic Channel has beefed up security at its Washington headquarters after being “bombarded” by threats over its upcoming film, “SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden,” a source said yesterday.
The movie has prompted enough threats from what one source called “Muslim extremist groups” that the network felt it had to take the action.
“They have been bombarded with phone calls and blog posts, saying that anyone airing a film like this is asking for trouble,” the source added.
“Enough threats have come in that the network is on higher security alert. They have a huge public building, with a museum and 1,600 people working.”
The network was already receiving sharp criticism for its decision to debut the feature-length TV movie Nov. 4, two days before the presidential election. Critics charged the timing was calculated to boost President Obama’s campaign.
The film’s distributor is staunch Obama supporter Harvey Weinstein. The channel, also called NatGeo, denied that accusations.
A rep for National Geographic said only that the channel will air the film “no matter what,” adding, “We are big believers in the First Amendment.”
A source told The Post that the reaction is far from what NatGeo is used to.
“They’ve never seen such a dramatic reaction. It’s not like there’s outrage over airing a documentary on the Grand Canyon,” the source said.