(BrightPress.org) – Conservative firebrand Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) reported a swatting incident on Christmas day. Swatting is the act of phoning in a false report of a violent crime at the victim’s address which is intended to prompt an extreme response by law enforcement. Typically the hoaxer will suggest someone has been killed and is threatening to kill again or commit suicide.
Greene reported the incident on X (Twitter). She said that her family was in the residence celebrating the holiday and guessed this was the eighth time she’s been swatted.
Swatting is difficult to stop as the perpetrators can use the internet to route the call through multiple proxies, sometimes they can even be based outside of the US. Greene indicated that her local police were able to contact her security team and discover that the call was a hoax. The first time someone is swatted is the most dangerous, especially if police believe the caller was genuine in their report.
Greene didn’t indicate what the caller had said to the police. She had also received a death threat earlier in the week over social media. It’s unclear if the two were connected. Police reported that the call came in through a suicide hotline.
Greene was swatted two nights in a row back in August, in one of the incidents a caller reported someone “shot multiple times” outside her house.
Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY) also reported that he was swatted on Christmas day in a post on X. His incident occurred hours after Greene’s. Similar to Greene, local police contacted Williams in advance of terrorizing his home with an unnecessary response. Williams reported giving the men “homemade cookies and spiced nuts,” and wished everyone a Merry Christmas.
Williams reported that the sheriff’s deputies were “polite, professional, and prompt” in their duties.
Swatters have also targeted conservative content creator Tim Pool who hosts a popular online news channel and podcast. Pool has been swatted over a dozen times in the last few years.
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