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2023 swatting of American politicians
DateDecember 2023—January 2024
Location
United States
GoalsUnknown, possibly to intimidate political figures
MethodsSwatting, doxing, bomb threats, and other forms of violent incidents
StatusInvestigations ongoing

Since December 2023, there has been widespread swatting and doxing of prominent figures in American politics, as well as bomb scares and other violent threats made against government buildings.[1][2] The series of swattings extended into January 2024.[3] As of December 2023, the motivations, and whether they are the product of one or multiple individuals, are unknown.[4]

Background

Swatting is a criminal harassment tactic that involves false reporting in order to generate a police response to another person's address. 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.[5]

Incidents

On December 25 (Christmas Day) 2023, the following were swatted: Tommy Tuberville, a Republican senator from Alabama;[6] Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican representative from Georgia;[7][8] Brandon Williams, a Republican representative from New York state;[9][8] Jack Smith, the independent special counsel overseeing the prosecution of Donald Trump in two federal cases;[10] and Michelle Wu, the Democratic mayor of Boston, Massachusetts.[11]

On December 26 in Ohio, the following were swatted: attorney general Dave Yost, state representative Kevin Miller, state senator Andrew Brenner, and former state representative Rick Carfagna.[12] Florida senator Rick Scott was swatted on December 27.[13][8]

On December 29, the following were swatted: Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (the day after she removed Trump from the state's ballots due to his involvement in the January 6 United States Capitol attack);[14] George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, who defended former President Donald Trump during his two impeachment trials, at his Fairfax, Virginia, home;[15][16] John Paul Mac Isaac, the computer repairman during the Hunter Biden's laptop controversy, at his Wilmington, Delaware, home.[17]

On December 30, the following were swatted: California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis,[18] and political philanthropist George Soros at his Southampton, New York home.[19]

On New Year's Day 2024, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton and his wife, majority leader of the Texas senate Angela Paxton were swatted when they were not at home.[20][21] They also allege their home address had been doxed.[20]

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.[22]

On January 7, 2024, Tanya Chutkan, the judge overseeing the criminal case against Donald Trump for obstructing the 2020 election, was swatted.[23] On January 11, 2024, Arthur Engoron, the judge overseeing the New York civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization, was swatted.[24]

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Corbett, Jessica (December 31, 2023). "Threats Rise as Courts Decide Trump's 2024 Ballot in Maine, Colorado". Truthout. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Matza, Max (December 29, 2023). "US lawmakers targeted by swatting hoaxes in multiple states". BBC News. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  5. ^ Lee, Dave (January 4, 2024). "US Must Stop 'Swatting' From Becoming an Election Weapon". Bloomberg News. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  6. ^ Helene Hall, Mary (December 30, 2023). "Tommy Tuberville reportedly targeted in swatting call at Auburn home". AL.com. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  7. ^ Stanton, Andrew (December 28, 2023). "Republicans want to change the law to protect their families". Newsweek. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Keene, Houston (December 29, 2023). "What is 'swatting,' the 'criminal harassment' hoax that's hit 3 GOP lawmakers since Christmas?". Fox News. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  9. ^ O'Driscoll, Sean (December 27, 2023). "Christmas Day "swatting" incidents target politicians". Newsweek. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  10. ^ Kosnar, Michael; Richards, Zoë (January 9, 2024). "Special counsel Jack Smith was targeted by attempted swatting on Christmas Day". NBC News. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  11. ^ McColgan, Flint (December 26, 2023). "Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's home 'swatted' on Christmas Day". Boston Herald. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  12. ^ Gallion, Bailey (December 27, 2023). "Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, state lawmakers victims of 'swatting' pranks". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ Thiessen, Mark (December 31, 2023). "Maine's secretary of state targeted in swatting call after removing Trump from ballot". PBS NewsHour. Associated Press. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  15. ^ Suter, Tara (December 29, 2023). "Turley reportedly latest target of swatting spree". The Hill. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  16. ^ Picket, Kerry (December 30, 2023). "Swatting hits law professor Jonathan Turley". The Washington Times. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  17. ^ Arias, Pilar (December 31, 2023). "Hunter Biden laptop repairman John Paul Mac Isaac's home 'swatted'". Fox News. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  18. ^ Cadelago, Christopher (January 4, 2024). "California lieutenant governor 'swatted' after push to boot Trump from ballot". Politico. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  19. ^ Wehner, Greg (January 1, 2024). "Soros' Southampton, NY, estate latest to fall victim to fake 911 'swatting' call". Fox News. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  20. ^ a b Summerville, Krista; Osborne, Ryan (January 3, 2024). "Texas AG Ken Paxton, wife Angela say their North Texas home was targeted in 'swatting' incident". WFAA-TV. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  21. ^ Hartley, James (January 3, 2024). "AG Ken Paxton says his McKinney home was targeted in 'swatting' 911 call on New Year's Day". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  22. ^ Prater, Nia (January 3, 2024). "State Capitols Around U.S. Evacuated After Hoax Bomb Threats". Intelligencer. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  23. ^ Lybrand, Holmes; Lotz, Avery (January 8, 2024). "Federal judge overseeing election case against Trump was victim of swatting incident". CNN. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  24. ^ Bromwich, Jonah E. (January 11, 2024). "Judge in Trump's Civil Fraud Trial is Swatted at His Home". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
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