Swatting incidents at GOP lawmakers’ homes on the rise over holidays

Swatting incidents at GOP lawmakers’ homes on the rise over holidays

At least three Republican members of Congress have said they were the target of swatting incidents in recent days, episodes in which false calls are placed to 911 to trigger massive police responses.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said he was the victim of one such attempt on Wednesday evening while out at dinner with his wife. “These criminals wasted the time & resources of our law enforcement in a sick attempt to terrorize my family,” the Florida senator and former governor said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and her family have been the target of multiple hoax calls, including one on Christmas Day. “Both my daughter’s houses just got swatted today,” she wrote on Thursday of the latest incident. “Whoever is doing this, you are going to get caught and it won’t be funny to you anymore.”
Another Christmas Day incident happened to Rep. Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.). “Our home was swatted this afternoon. Thanks to the Deputies and Troopers who contacted me before arriving,” he wrote in a Christmas post.
Such episodes have also affected numerous state and local officials, and come amid increasing concern for the security of members of Congress.