At least three GOP lawmakers have been victimized by holiday swatting in the previous days. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla), Reps. Brandon Williams (R-NY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga) claimed that local police were falsely notified of an emergency at their residences.
On Wednesday, Sen. Rick Scott recounts criminals reporting false crime on police authorities while he and his wife are out having dinner.
“These criminals wasted the time & resources of our law enforcement in a sick attempt to terrorize my family,” remarked the Florida senator and former governor on X.
Rep. Greene who was a victim of swatting last Christmas day, reported that the houses of her two daughters just got swatted on Thursday.
“Whoever is doing this, you are going to get caught and it won’t be funny to you anymore.”
Before this, Greene also posted on X that she has been swatted for the eight time on Christmas.
“I just got swatted.” I think this is the eighth time. On Christmas with my family here,” Greene wrote early on Monday morning on X, the previous Twitter platform. “My local police are the GREATEST and shouldn’t have to deal with this. I appreciate them so much and my family and I are in joyous spirits celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ!”
“Our home was swatted this afternoon,” Williams posted to X on Monday. “Thanks to the Deputies and Troopers who contacted me before arriving. They left with homemade cookies and spiced nuts! Merry Christmas everyone!”
Swatting is the act of making a fraudulent report to the police to bring numerous armed officers to the target’s house. Spoofing technology is frequently used by criminals to conceal their identity or give the impression that the victim’s phone is making the call to emergency personnel. Swatting is a type of internet harassment that has increased in frequency in recent years. It has occasionally resulted in unintentional fatalities.
The Associated Press reports that at approximately 11 a.m., a guy from New York called Georgia’s suicide hotline. Monday. At Greene’s address, he claimed to have shot and killed his girlfriend and to be planning his suicide. After being alerted, the police contacted Greene’s private protection to make sure she was okay. Before they could get to her house, they circled back.
“We determined before our personnel could get to her location that there was no emergency and there was no reason to respond,” Madden said. “Her security detail had it all under control, and there actually was nothing going on.”
The Rome Police Department verified to the AP that Greene has been the target of eight attempts at swatting during her term in Congress. She criticized the FBI for not being able to identify the individuals responsible, writing on X, “The FBI can’t seem to figure out who is responsible for the swatting and says the law doesn’t allow them to track them down. The FBI can do so many things, has even abused FISA to spy on hundreds of thousands of Americans, but can not figure out who wants me killed by a hail of bullets fired by a SWAT team responding to murder suicide calls supposedly coming from me.”
A New York man was given a three-month prison sentence in August for calling Greene’s congressional office with threatening messages in 2022.
Approximately 2:00 p.m. According to CNN, Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck stated that the Cayuga County Sheriff’s office in central New York got a “report of a reported confessed shooting incident” at Williams’ residence on Monday.
Schenck continued, “This report was quickly confirmed to be false.” There is an ongoing investigation.
The FBI established a nationwide database this year to track and perhaps stop swatting events because it has grown to be such a serious worry. According to a statement from the FBI, the database is the result of “collaborative efforts between the FBI and law enforcement partners to track and create a real-time picture of swatting incidents.” The FBI claimed to have monitored 129 swatting occurrences across the country in May and June of 2023.
In a 2020 statement, the agency stated, “Swatting is a serious crime that may have potentially deadly consequences. It may be motivated by revenge, used as a form of harassment, or used as a prank.”
Wow this could be dangerous if ever there was an actual emergency!!!! Modern technology can be a pain at times. A very harsh punishment should be given to these game playing swatters!