Swatting of American politicians (2023–2024)

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Season of Swatting[1]
DateDecember 2023 to present
Location
United States
GoalsUnknown, possibly to intimidate political figures.[1]
MethodsDoxxing, swatting, bomb threats, and other forms of violent incidents.[1]
Status

In what has become known as the Season of Swatting,[1] there has been widespread doxxing, swatting, bomb scares, and other violent threats made against American political activists, politicians, and government buildings since December 2023.

Initially occurring predominantly among those who are members of the Republican Party or conservatives,[2] beginning in late December 2023, members of the Democratic Party began to be increasingly targetted as well.[3] The motivations, and whether it is the product of one or multiple individuals, is presently unknown.[4]

The swattings have extended into January 2024.[5] On January 3, 2024, dozens of state capitols received bomb threats, leading to evacuations of the Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, and Montana government buildings.[6] On the same day, conservative activist Laura Loomer,[7] Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling,[8] and many others were doxxed, swatted, and threatened, with the crisis further escalating.[9]

Background

Swatting is a criminal harassment tactic that involves false reporting in order to generate a police response. Information in the hoaxes is often obtained through data broker websites, compromised accounts, and leaked databases to obtain, often through legal means, personally identifying information about the individual which can be used for swatting.[1]

Journalist Dave Lee of Bloomberg News writes that weak data privacy laws in the United States have been increasingly used against politicians, activists, and protesters, as data brokers have made it easy to legally access the "home addresses, family members, [and] places of work" of opponents. He notes that "Stark political division and increasingly violent rhetoric threaten to escalate attacks. Throw in an overly militarized police force, and the recipe for deadly catastrophe is complete."[1] The events have been commonly referred to as the Season of Swatting,[1] and initially the Christmas Swattings, due to its overlap with the holiday season.[10]

Incidents

State lawmakers

California

California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis was targetted with a swat on December 30th.[11]

Maine

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows was swatted a day after ruling on Trump's ballot access, citing the events of Jan, 6, 2021.[12] After ruling that Trump was ineligible, Bellows was doxxed, with her home address, phone number, and other personal data published online. Bellows was subsequently swatted on December 29, 2023.[13]

Massachusetts

Boston mayor Michelle Wu was swatted on Christmas day.[14]

Ohio

In Ohio, at least four Republican politicians were reported swatted. This includes Attorney General Dave Yost, State Representative Kevin Miller, and former Representatives Rick Carfagna and Senator Andrew Brenner.[15]

Texas

Ken Paxton was doxxed[16] and swatted on New Years Day.[5]

National lawmakers

House of Representatives

Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was swatted on Christmas Day.[17] Republican Representative Brandon Williams was swatted on Christmas Day, prompting the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office to contact him.[18]

Senators

Florida Senator Rick Scott was swatted on December 27.[19]

Tommy Tuberville was swatted on December 24.[20]

Other

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, who defended former President Donald Trump during his two impeachment trials, was also targeted.[21][when?] John Paul Mac Isaac, the computer repairman during the Hunter Biden's laptop controversy, was also swatted.[22][when?] Conservative political activist Jack Posobiec stated that his parents were also targeted.[23] George Soros was also swatted on December 30.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Lee, Dave (January 4, 2024). "US Must Stop 'Swatting' From Becoming an Election Weapon". Bloomberg News. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  2. ^ Paybarah, Azi (December 29, 2023). "Marjorie Taylor Greene isn't the only politician to be a swatting target". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  3. ^ Corbett, Jessica (December 31, 2023). "Threats Rise as Courts Decide Trump's 2024 Ballot in Maine, Colorado". Truthout. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  4. ^ "US lawmakers targeted by swatting hoaxes in multiple states". BBC News. December 29, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Morris, Kyle (January 2, 2024). "Texas AG Ken Paxton, wife targeted by home 'swatting' on New Year's Day". Fox News. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  6. ^ Prater, Nia (January 3, 2024). "State Capitols Around U.S. Evacuated After Hoax Bomb Threats". Intelligencer. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  7. ^ Loomer, Laura (January 3, 2024). "I just got swatted". Twitter. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  8. ^ Sterling, Gabriel (January 3, 2024). "My family has now joined the ranks of those who have had their home "swatted". We should all refuse to allow bomb threats & swatting to be the new normal. 911 got a call saying a drug deal gone bad, resulted in shooting, at our home. Everyone is ok. But this is wrong". Twitter. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  9. ^ Joyner, Chris. "Georgia election official 'swatted' as hoaxes multiply". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  10. ^ Emmons, Libby. "The Christmas Swattings: List of conservatives and lawmakers who were swatted at during Christmas 2023". The Post Millennial. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  11. ^ Cadelago, Christopher (January 4, 2024). "California lieutenant governor 'swatted' after push to boot Trump from ballot". POLITICO. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Elena, Maria (December 30, 2023). "Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows' home targeted with swatting call – The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  13. ^ Hirschkorn, Phil (January 2, 2024). "Shenna Bellows speaks out: Maine's secretary of state stands defiant". Salon. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  14. ^ McColgan, Flint (December 26, 2023). "Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's home 'swatted' on Christmas Day". Boston Herald. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  15. ^ Gallion, Bailey. "Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, state lawmakers victims of 'swatting' pranks". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  16. ^ Abrams, Cameron (January 3, 2024). "Paxton Home in McKinney 'Swatted' After False Report to Emergency Services". The Texan. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  17. ^ Stanton, Andrew (December 28, 2023). "Republicans want to change the law to protect their families". Newsweek. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  18. ^ O'Driscoll, Sean (December 27, 2023). "Christmas Day "swatting" incidents target politicians". Newsweek. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  19. ^ Somasundaram, Praveena (December 28, 2023). "Rick Scott is latest politician to report swatting at his Fla. home". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  20. ^ Helene Hall, Mary (December 30, 2023). "Tommy Tuberville reportedly targeted in swatting call at Auburn home". al. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  21. ^ Nava, Victor (December 29, 2023). "Legal scholar Jonathan Turley becomes latest 'swatting' victim". Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  22. ^ Arias, Pilar (December 31, 2023). "Hunter Biden laptop repairman John Paul Mac Isaac's home 'swatted'". Fox News. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  23. ^ King, Ryan (December 25, 2023). "Marjorie Taylor Greene says she was 'swatted' on Christmas Day with her family: 'The 8th time'". New York Post. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  24. ^ Wehner, Greg (January 1, 2024). "Soros' Southampton, NY, estate latest to fall victim to fake 911 'swatting' call". Fox News. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
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