FBI Director Kash Patel left popular podcast host Joe Rogan in shock when he revealed that he&#8217;d been swatted just one day prior to his appearance on Rogan&#8217;s show.
Patel let the information slip while he and Rogan recorded &#8220;The Joe Rogan Experience&#8221; episode that dropped on Friday, and the host visibly recoiled at the thought. &#8220;The head of the FBI gets swatted?&#8221; Rogan asked in apparent disbelief, his eyebrows raised.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Kash Patel was SWATTED.
Swatting is attempted murder.
These people need to be arrested. <a href="https://t.co/T7zwDFFWav">pic.twitter.com/T7zwDFFWav</a>
&mdash; Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1931064246298657066?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;As Director of the FBI, I have a responsibility — I&#8217;m not just going to bring a case because somebody hurt me,&#8221; Patel began, adding, &#8220;They did. And they continue to do it. S***, my house just got swatted yesterday.&#8221;
&#8220;What?!&#8221; Rogan exclaimed.
&#8220;Yeah,&#8221; Patel replied.
&#8220;You got swatted?&#8221; Rogan asked, clearly struggling to wrap his brain around the information.
&#8220;Oh, yeah,&#8221; Patel confirmed.
&#8220;The head of the FBI gets swatted?&#8221; Rogan asked again.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>
&#8220;Yeah,&#8221; Patel repeated. &#8220;Yeah. These people play — it&#8217;s the ultimate height of hypocrisy. They have two sets of rules. One against you, and one for them.&#8221;
During the same interview, both Rogan and Patel appeared to be caught off guard by news of the very public spat between President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk — largely over Trump&#8217;s support for the One, Big Beautiful Bill currently before the U.S. Senate.
Patel quickly made it clear that he did not want any part of that conversation, and Rogan suggested that someone might need to take Musk&#8217;s phone away — at least on a temporary basis.
&#8220;What is he doing? Someone should take his phone away,&#8221; Rogan said.
&#8220;I’m just staying out of the Trump-Elon thing. That’s way outside my lane,&#8221; Patel replied.
&#8220;What the f*** are they doing?&#8221; Rogan asked.
Patel was insistent: &#8220;I know my lane and that ain’t it.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨 JOE ROGAN: “Jesus Christ. What is he doing? Someone should take his phone away.”
KASH PATEL: “I’m just trying outside of the Trump/Elon thing. That’s way outside my lane.”
JOE: “What the f**k are they doing?”
KASH: “I know my lane and that ain’t it.” 💀 <a href="https://t.co/umgAWFtIP5">pic.twitter.com/umgAWFtIP5</a>
&mdash; Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) <a href="https://twitter.com/AutismCapital/status/1931067123922604254?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Kash Patel

Kash Patel Shocks Joe Rogan With Wild Revelation During Podcast Interview

Joe Rogan

kash patel

Law Enforcement

Media

Swatting

U.S.

Congressional allies of DOGE grilled the leaders of NPR and PBS, arguing that federal taxpayers are being forced to fund politically biased coverage. The Senate introduced a resolution condemning the spate of attacks on Tesla as domestic terrorism. And prominent conservatives are being targeted in swatting hoaxes.
It’s Thursday, March 27, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lawmakers-probe-signal-gate-conservatives-swatted-3-27-25/id1576594336?i=1000701035481" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2>Grilling on Capitol Hill</h2>
<div id="attachment_898535" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-898535" class="wp-image-898535 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/NPR-and-PBS-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" />(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Congress continued its investigation of “Signal Gate” on Monday while the House Oversight Committee grilled NPR and PBS leaders on bias at the taxpayer-funded outlets.
The purpose of the &#8220;Anti-American Airwaves” <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/anti-american-airwaves-holding-the-heads-of-npr-and-pbs-accountable/">hearing</a> was to determine if NPR and PBS should continue to receive federal funding. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a government-funded company that <a href="https://cpb.org/pressroom/CPB-Statement-Congress-Approval-Continued-Funding-Public-Media">received</a> $535 million in taxpayer dollars this year, with millions of dollars going directly to NPR and PBS. 
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who organized the hearing, slammed PBS and NPR as &#8220;radical left-wing echo chambers&#8221; that publish biased news reports with government subsidies and LGBTQ programming intent on “grooming children.” NPR CEO Katherine Maher admitted under questioning that it was &#8220;concerning&#8221; there were no Republicans on NPR’s editorial board – all 87 are Democrats. Maher said that NPR was “mistaken in failing to cover the Hunter Biden laptop story more aggressively and sooner.” But perhaps the most revealing moment came when Texas Republican Congressman Brandon Gill grilled her about her past tweets:
<blockquote>GILL: Do you believe that America believes in black plunder and white democracy?
MAHER: I don’t believe that sir.
GILL: You tweeted that in reference to a book you were reading at the time apparently, The Case for Reparations.
MAHER: I don’t think I’ve ever read that book, sir.
GILL: You tweeted about it. You said you took a day off to fully read The Case For Reparations. You put that on twitter in January 2020… Do you believe that white people inherently feel superior to other races?
MAHER: I do not.
GILL: You don’t? You tweeted something to that effect. You said “I grew up feeling superior. Ha! How white of me. Why did you tweet that?</blockquote>
PBS CEO Paula Kerger defended her network from allegations of partisanship and bias, arguing that “there’s nothing more American than PBS&#8221; and describing it as a crucial source of accurate information and educational programming for millions of Americans. Several Republican members of the committee disputed that characterization.
“ There was an analysis done on PBS&#8217;s NewsHour from June to November of 2023,” Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) said. “Where they found that far-right was used 162 times and far-left was only used six times. “
<h2>Senators Condemn Anti-Tesla Terrorism</h2>
<div id="attachment_884341" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-884341" class="size-large wp-image-884341" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-1423403824-864x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 13: U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-WV) questions Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, former head of security at Twitter, during a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on data security at Twitter, on Capitol Hill, September 13, 2022 in Washington, DC. Zatko claims that Twitter's widespread security failures pose a security risk to user's privacy and information and could potentially endanger national security." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-1423403824-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-1423403824-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-1423403824-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-1423403824.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Should the attacks on Tesla cars and showrooms be condemned as “domestic terrorism”? A Senator introduces a resolution on the violence.
Amid a wave of vandalism targeting Tesla and DOGE, Republicans in the Senate are bringing a resolution to condemn what they say is an orchestrated “domestic terrorism” campaign empowered by leftist groups. 
Morning Wire spoke with Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) about the attacks.
“It is stunning that we are seeing this take place, and that Democratic leadership is not standing up and calling out these acts of domestic terrorism.” Sen. Blackburn told Morning Wire. &#8220;We have lived through four years, where every time you turned around, they were talking about domestic terrorism, they were calling parents that went to school board meetings domestic terrorists. They were calling individuals that would stand across the street from a Planned Parenthood and pray for the women and the unborn children, and they would call that ‘domestic terrorism.’&#8221; 
“And now we are going through this, where they&#8217;re actually firebombing and shooting up Tesla dealerships. They are destroying the cars of Tesla owners. They are stopping people in the middle of the streets that are driving a Tesla, and are condemning them for owning those vehicles and nothing is being said. So we think it&#8217;s appropriate that we have the resolution, and we give them the opportunity – members of the U.S. Senate from each party and the couple of independents that we have – give them the opportunity to stand up and say we condemn these attacks.”
The resolution is expected to reach the floor of the Senate on Thursday.
<h2>Swatting Surge</h2>
<div id="attachment_898533" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-898533" class="size-large wp-image-898533" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/SWATTING-1024x512.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="512" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/SWATTING-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/SWATTING-300x150.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/SWATTING-768x384.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/SWATTING-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/SWATTING-2048x1024.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />(Photo by Chris Clor via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Prominent conservatives are being “swatted” – a dangerous hoax where someone falsely reports a serious crime to law enforcement and causes them to show up at a person’s house fully armed.
Swatting has been employed as a vindictive tactic for decades and has sometimes resulted in serious injury or even death, but recently, the number of swatting cases has jumped to alarming levels. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/20/media/trump-musk-conservative-influencers-swatting/index.html">CNN</a> reported that at least a dozen Trump-supporting influencers have been swatted in the last two weeks. 
The targets have been an eclectic group: private citizens like social media star Gunther Eagleman, radio show host Joe Pagliarulo, and Infowars&#8217; Chase Geiser, as well as elected politicians like Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). Matt Van Swol – a former liberal who gained a following in the past six months advocating for Hurricane Helene relief in North Carolina – was also victimized.
“Around 2:00 AM on Sunday night, we heard a loud bang on the door,” Van Swol told The Daily Wire. “We had a really big storm that night. We thought, you know, maybe someone was doing a wellness check. The power was going in and out all night. My wife ran to the door, I was getting my clothes on, and she saw a police officer with his gun drawn at the door. This could have ended horribly … it turns out that the police had gotten a phone call from someone pretending to be me saying that there had been a shooting at the house. That Erin had been shot and killed, that um, I had been shot in the leg and that there were three masked men hiding in the basement.”
Van Swol’s 3 children were at home during the incident – thankfully, no one was harmed. As of now, there have been no arrests associated with the recent swattings, but Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel have both said they were looking into the attacks. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) also <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/1900368280335847854">suggested</a> that those responsible should be charged with attempted murder.

View of Capitol Building

Morning Brief: Congress Grills PBS & NPR, Senators Condemn Anti-Tesla Terror Attacks, Swatting Surges

Congress

Democrats

Morning Wire

Republicans

Tesla

Erin Derham heard the knocking first.
Another storm was raging over North Carolina, with heavy rain and wind gusts over 40 MPH bringing more damage to an area still suffering from a hurricane last year. The pounding at her door was so loud and so desperate that she thought a tree must have fallen on the house, and someone was coming to check on her family.
She rushed to the door in her pajamas, as her three kids slept upstairs and her husband, social media influencer Matt Van Swol, frantically dressed. When Derham answered the door, she found a police officer with his gun drawn. He asked her if someone inside the home had been shot.
She immediately knew what was going on. Her family was being swatted.
Swatting is a pernicious practice wherein someone calls the police to falsely report a serious crime at an innocent individual’s home, bringing police and SWAT teams to the home. Police arrive to a residence with urgency to stop a serious crime that isn&#8217;t happening, a waste of resources that could potentially cause unnecessary confrontation and even death.
When Derham told the officer what was happening, she says he first seemed to believe she was admitting to perpetrating the hoax herself. She explained to him that someone else had called in the crime, and the officer radioed in to tell the other units en route to stop. Apparently, just about every law enforcement officer in Buncombe County was on their way to the Van Swol household, responding to a call so horrific it necessitated a massive police presence.
That call, according to a police transcript provided to The Daily Wire, came from a person pretending to be Van Swol saying that three masked intruders — two white and one black — broke into his home, shot his wife, and then shot him in the back and leg. The caller claimed he was hiding in the basement and could still hear the intruders rummaging through the house while his son was asleep upstairs.
“They’re going to kill me,” the caller said, begging for police assistance.
The desperation in the caller’s voice and the wild story they strung together could only mean one thing, Van Swol told The Daily Wire: “These people wanted to kill me.”
His family is still living on edge.
“My daughter woke up while the police officers were in the house,” he said. “She&#8217;s 13. It&#8217;s hard to explain to a kid that when a bunch of cops show up to your house with guns drawn that you&#8217;re not the bad guy, somebody else is.”
Van Swol said he believes the situation probably would have been worse if he had answered the door rather than his wife.
“Had I gone to the door, seen a man with a gun with a flashlight with his headlights pointed through the window of my door, I would probably try to kill that person,” he said, adding that he doesn’t think he would have survived the encounter. But because the caller claimed a woman had been shot and male perpetrators were still in the house, a woman answering the door with no injuries immediately defused the situation.
Thankfully for the Van Swol family, they live in a small town where everyone knows everyone, and neighbors have come by to make sure they were okay, while the police have been transparent and helpful.
Van Swol posted about the encounter on X, including door-camera footage of the initial confrontation. He also called the police officer who went to the door alone a “hero,” because, from the officer’s perspective, he was going into a dangerous situation without backup to try and save lives.
Van Swol said he was told by law enforcement that local media outlets were calling and showing up at the police department to ask whether the swatting event was real, but after police confirmed it was, no articles were written.
“They were apparently blowing up the police department to get more information on it,” Van Swol told The Daily Wire. “And you would think one would write a story about it if they were so interested, but they never wrote a story about it and it&#8217;s big news.”
Since the swatting attempt, hoaxsters have ordered numerous pizzas to the Van Swol household late at night. The constant doorbell ringing became so regular that the family now posts a sign on the door warning delivery people they did not order anything and the orders are a hoax.
Van Swol is one of many conservative influencers to be swatted recently. As analyst DataRepublican pointed out on X, nearly all of those who have been swatted since March 10 were popular X accounts who are regularly interacted with by Elon Musk, with many, Van Swol excluded, having ties to InfoWars or War Room.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🧵 THREAD: Unmasking Swatting Patterns 🧵
Three additional MAGA X influencers got swatted today: <a href="https://twitter.com/Beard_Vet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Beard_Vet</a> , <a href="https://twitter.com/matt_vanswol?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@matt_vanswol</a> , <a href="https://twitter.com/GrageDustin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GrageDustin</a> .
I used Grok to compile the following list of swatting victims and then ran it through both Grok and OpenAI’s deep research tools to find… <a href="https://t.co/mpuzUH2npt">https://t.co/mpuzUH2npt</a>
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) <a href="https://twitter.com/DataRepublican/status/1901466684398895135?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Many of the accounts who were victims of swatting also expressed support for Israel or spoke out against Hamas and were regularly amplified by Utah Senator Mike Lee’s personal account. The accounts also have follower counts in the hundreds of thousands, or even millions.
Van Swol rose to prominence following Hurricane Helene, which struck western North Carolina in September 2024 and became the deadliest hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005. After the storm hit, Van Swol noticed the government and media outlets quickly moved on from reporting on the destruction, and began amplifying the concerns of the people who lost their homes and businesses in the storm. Before Hurricane Helene, Van Swol says he had around 5,000 followers, but as of publication he has more than 200,000.
He at times posts conservative messages to explain why he left the Democratic Party after seeing how the media and government treated western North Carolina, but he doesn’t understand why he is now a target of swatting.
“What could I have possibly said that would have angered someone so badly that they would be on the phone with the police, making up some crazy story to try to get the police to break into the house with a gun in the middle of the night?”
This is not the first wave of swatting. The FBI warned of the dangers of swatting back in 2008, <a href="https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2008/february/swatting020408">calling</a> the attempts “dangerous to first responders and to the victims.” At the time, the FBI referred to a case from 2007 where a married California couple was swatted by a 19-year-old Washington State man who called the police claiming to be the husband and said he had just murdered someone. No one was injured during that incident, and the caller was apprehended.
“Between 2002 and 2006, the five swatters called 9-1-1 lines in more than 60 cities nationwide, impacting more than 100 victims, causing a disruption of services for telecommunications providers and emergency responders, and resulting in up to $250,000 in losses,” the FBI reported in 2008.
In 2012, multiple conservative bloggers — including Erick Erickson of Redstate — were the victims of swatting. Then-Sen. Saxby Chambliss, a Republican from Georgia, was also a victim.
But conservatives aren&#8217;t the only swatting victims. In 2013, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and numerous celebrities, including Ashton Kutcher and Tom Cruise, had their homes swatted. That same year, Mir Islam was convicted of doxing and swatting more than 50 public figures. Multiple video game streamers have also been victims.
A swatting incident in Oklahoma in 2015 left Sentinel Police Chief Louis Ross injured after he was shot by a homeowner who had been swatted. The homeowner, Dallas Horton, had no idea Ross was an officer and thought a man with a gun was breaking into his home. Ross was shot multiple times but survived.
In 2017, a Wichita police officer shot and killed Andrew Finch during a swatting attempt after two “Call of Duty” gamers who played with him made the fake call. Tyler Raj Barris was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime. Another gamer was sentenced to 15 months in prison for conspiracy.
In 2020, 60-year-old Mark Herring of Bethpage, Tennessee, died of a heart attack after he was swatted by a man who wanted his X handle. Shane Sonderman was sentenced to five years in prison for the crime.
So far, no one has been arrested for the recent string of swattings targeting conservative influencers, and according to Van Swol, his local police currently have no leads. This week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem vowed to find the people behind the attacks.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we will not sit idly by as conservative new media and their families are being targeted by false swatting,” Noem wrote on X. “[DHS] has the ability to trace phone numbers and track location information. We will use it to hunt these cowards down.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Under President Trump’s leadership, we will not sit idly by as conservative new media and their families are being targeted by false swatting. <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DHSgov</a> has the ability to trace phone numbers and track location information. We will use it to hunt these cowards down.
This is an…
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem/status/1902426512579559497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
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FBI Director Kash Patel also released a statement regarding the attacks.
“I want to address the alarming rise in ‘Swatting’ incidents targeting media figures,” Patel said on X. “The FBI is aware of this dangerous trend, and my team and I are already taking action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.”
“This isn’t about politics—weaponizing law enforcement against ANY American is not only morally reprehensible but also endangers lives, including those of our officers,” Patel added. “That will not be tolerated. We are fully committed to working with local law enforcement to crack down on these crimes.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I want to address the alarming rise in ‘Swatting’ incidents targeting media figures. The FBI is aware of this dangerous trend, and my team and I are already taking action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.
This isn’t about politics—weaponizing law enforcement…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1900536072871768094?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Van Swol, in addition to wanting the perpetrators brought to justice, said he wants the country to calm down.
“I&#8217;d love to see them found and I would love to see the temperature around Elon and DOGE and Trump drop because we cannot live in a country where someone is swatted in the middle of the night for posting their benign political views on the internet.&#8221;

Police on the move aiming rifles

What It’s Like To Be Swatted

Crime

North Carolina

FBI Director Kash Patel addressed recent &#8220;swatting&#8221; incidents that unfolded this week by saying that the Bureau was working to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.
The statement from Patel comes after several conservative media figures and influencers said this week that they had been swatted.
&#8220;I want to address the alarming rise in ‘Swatting’ incidents targeting media figures,&#8221; Patel said. &#8220;The FBI is aware of this dangerous trend, and my team and I are already taking action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.&#8221;
&#8220;Swatting&#8221; is a dangerous and illegal prank where a person contacts law enforcement and makes false claims about an event taking place at a specific address — like a mass shooting or hostage situation — with the aim of generating a large law enforcement response to that address.
Patel continued, &#8220;This isn’t about politics—weaponizing law enforcement against ANY American is not only morally reprehensible but also endangers lives, including those of our officers. That will not be tolerated.&#8221;
He added that the FBI was working with local law enforcement departments to crack down on the crimes.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I want to address the alarming rise in ‘Swatting’ incidents targeting media figures. The FBI is aware of this dangerous trend, and my team and I are already taking action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.
This isn’t about politics—weaponizing law enforcement…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1900536072871768094?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
U.S. Attorney Ed Martin said in a statement after some of the swatting incidents became public this week that if any of the perpetrators were discovered in the District of Columbia, they would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) suggested on Thursday that swatting should be &#8220;prosecuted as attempted murder.&#8221;
&#8220;If you send heavily armed men to someone’s house with a false assertion that a violent crime is being committed there, you’re creating a grave risk that an innocent person will get shot,&#8221; he said.

FBI Going After Those Responsible For Recent ‘Swatting’ Incidents

Mike Lee

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/maine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maine</a> Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is speaking out after her home was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/swatting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;swatted&#8221;</a> the day after she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maine-kicks-trump-off-2024-primary-ballot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disqualified</a> former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> from the state&#8217;s 2024 primary ballot.
Bellows, a Democrat, said on Saturday that she is concerned for the safety of her family amid fallout from her ruling on Thursday that found Trump violated the <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-14/section-3/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">14th Amendment&#8217;s</a> insurrection clause due to his conduct leading up to the U.S. Capitol breach on January 6, 2021, and wanted to make a statement.
&#8220;I decided to speak out today because threats of violence are unacceptable. Swatting the home of an elected official, who is doing their job, is unacceptable,&#8221; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbUw9fCNpwc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">she told MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend</a>. &#8220;And what my staff, my team have experienced — what they experienced all day yesterday, was a constant onslaught of threatening communications. And that has to stop.&#8221;
Maine State Police said a call was made by an unknown male on Friday in which he claimed to have broken into an Augusta-area home, prompting a law enforcement response in what authorities ultimately determined was a swatting call, according to <a href="https://wgme.com/news/local/maine-secretary-of-state-bellows-home-targeted-in-swatting-incident" target="_blank" rel="noopener">local CBS affiliate WGME</a>. Both police and Bellows confirmed that it was her home that was the target. She added that she was away with her husband when the swatting occurred.
&#8220;Many of you have asked if Brandon and I are safe. We are away for the holiday weekend. We were not home yesterday when threats escalated, and our home address was posted online,&#8221; Bellows <a href="https://www.facebook.com/shenna.bellows/posts/10229126164831270?ref=embed_post" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on social media. &#8220;It was a good thing because our home was swatted last night. That’s when someone calls in a fake emergency to evoke a strong law enforcement response to scare the target. Swatting incidents have resulted in casualties although thankfully this one did not.&#8221;
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The &#8220;swatting&#8221; incident was the latest in a string of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mtg-vows-to-introduce-legislation-to-crack-down-on-swatting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fake reports of an emergency</a> to law enforcement targeting elected officials of both parties this holiday season, including Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/marjorie-taylor-greene" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marjorie Taylor Greene</a> (R-GA), <a href="https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/12/26/boston-mayor-michelle-wus-home-swatted-on-christmas-day/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boston Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu</a>, and <a href="https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/crime/2023/12/28/rick-scott-reports-swatting-attempt-at-florida-home-what-is-swatting/72046922007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL)</a>.
Asked what steps are being taken to ensure that threats do not affect her ability to serve the people of Maine, Bellows said she has been &#8220;so fortunate&#8221; as she praised the work of law enforcement to keep her, her family, and her team safe. Bellows also said that she has received an outpouring of support from the Maine community, including from those people who disagree with her ruling, against which Trump&#8217;s campaign has vowed to file a legal challenge.
&#8220;But it is important for all good people to speak up,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And furthermore, I also want to call out the dehumanizing images that have been placed online of me, the threatening communications to people in my family, and to my staff, people who work for me. It is designed to instill fear, and to provoke silence, to keep people from speaking out, to send a message — and it is absolutely wrong and we cannot stand for it.&#8221;

Hearing in Augusta to reverse changes to section 17 that resulted in many clients losing mental health services

Maine Official Who Disqualified Trump From Ballot Says She’s Been Hit By ‘Onslaught’ Of Threats

Maine Official Who Disqualified Trump From Ballot Hit By 'Onslaught' Of Threats

2024 Election

Donald Trump

Maine

Politics

Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/marjorie-taylor-greene" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marjorie Taylor Greene</a> (R-GA) said on Wednesday that she plans to introduce legislation that would make it easier to combat <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/swatting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;swatting&#8221;</a> incidents that have impacted her and many others across the country.
The announcement came as Greene, also known as &#8220;MTG,&#8221; and other elected officials were targeted this holiday season by calls to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/law-enforcement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">law enforcement</a> involving fake reports of an emergency.
&#8220;The dangerous swatting harassment continues, as tonight, one of my family members was swatted at their house,&#8221; Greene <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1740193293965902021" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a post</a> to X. &#8220;I will be introducing legislation to make it much easier for law enforcement to arrest and prosecutors to prosecute these criminals.&#8221;
Swatting incidents can already lead to <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47557#_Toc135223786" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charges</a>, but they have become increasingly commonplace with the <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/the-crime-of-swatting-fake-9-1-1-calls-have-real-consequences1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rise of technology</a> that makes it easier to trick people. <a href="https://www.13abc.com/2023/12/28/multiple-schools-hospitals-synagogues-targeting-swatting-hoaxes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Schools, religious institutions</a>, hospitals, online gamers, and public figures are among the many targets of the hoax calls. In <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/la-man-arrested-swatting-incident-led-police-killing/story?id=52057251" target="_blank" rel="noopener">some</a> <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/14/us/swatting-sentence-casey-viner/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cases</a>, the result can be deadly. The FBI has formed a <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/fbi-creates-national-database-track-swatting/story?id=100527427" target="_blank" rel="noopener">national database</a> to help track swatting.
This week, multiple elected officials reportedly became victims of swatting calls, including <a href="https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/12/26/boston-mayor-michelle-wus-home-swatted-on-christmas-day/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boston Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/second-house-republican-gets-swatted-on-christmas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY)</a>, and <a href="https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/crime/2023/12/28/rick-scott-reports-swatting-attempt-at-florida-home-what-is-swatting/72046922007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL)</a>.
&#8220;Last night, while at dinner with my wife, cowards &#8216;swatted&#8217; my home in Naples. These criminals wasted the time &amp; resources of our law enforcement in a sick attempt to terrorize my family,&#8221; Scott said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/SenRickScott/status/1740355797190934542" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post to X</a> on Thursday. The senator also said he and his wife Ann wanted to thank local law enforcement &#8220;for all they do to keep us safe.&#8221;
In a post to X on Monday, Greene announced that she had just been <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1739312209996497293" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;swatted&#8221; for &#8220;like the 8th time&#8221;</a> while celebrating the Christmas holiday with her family.
Police in Rome, Georgia, said someone in Rome, New York, called the suicide hotline claiming to have shot his girlfriend at Greene&#8217;s address and warning he would kill himself next, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/police-confirm-christmas-swatting-incident-marjorie-taylor-greenes-hou-rcna131131" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBC News</a>. A Rome police spokesperson <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-is-not-the-first-incident-marjorie-taylor-greene-swatted-at-her-home-on-christmas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said her department</a> called Greene&#8217;s security team and a police response to the congresswoman&#8217;s home was cancelled at their behest.
“My local police are the GREATEST and shouldn’t have to deal with this,” Greene <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1739312209996497293" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> in her post to X. “I appreciate them so much and my family and I are in joyous spirits celebrating the birth of our savior Jesus Christ!”

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene

MTG Vows To Introduce Legislation To Crack Down On ‘Swatting’

MTG Vows To Introduce Legislation To Crack Down On 'Swatting'

Marjorie Taylor Greene

Rick Scott

A second member of the U.S. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-house-of-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House</a> got &#8220;swatted&#8221; on Christmas after a false report of a crime prompted a law enforcement response to the home of Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY) on the same day <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-is-not-the-first-incident-marjorie-taylor-greene-swatted-at-her-home-on-christmas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a similar incident disrupted the holiday</a> for Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/marjorie-taylor-greene" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marjorie Taylor Greene</a> (R-GA).
&#8220;Our home was swatted this afternoon. Thanks to the Deputies and Troopers who contacted me before arriving,&#8221; Williams <a href="https://twitter.com/RepWilliams/status/1739368231998013825" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post to X on Monday. &#8220;They left with homemade cookies and spiced nuts! Merry Christmas everyone!&#8221;
The post showed images of law enforcement officers walking around the property with Williams and posing for a photo with him.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Our home was swatted this afternoon. Thanks to the Deputies and Troopers who contacted me before arriving.
They left with homemade cookies and spiced nuts! Merry Christmas everyone! <a href="https://t.co/uQ2xkzLVJ6">pic.twitter.com/uQ2xkzLVJ6</a>
&mdash; Rep. Brandon Williams (@RepWilliams) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepWilliams/status/1739368231998013825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck <a href="https://auburnpub.com/news/local/cayuga-county-sheriff-rep-williams-swatted-with-report-of-shooting/article_057e0242-a395-11ee-9fcb-032b14b23147.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told The Citizen</a>, a local news outlet, that his office is now conducting an investigation into who made the call.
&#8220;It is unfortunate that someone would make such a false report on Christmas Day and cause Congressman Williams and his family such an inconvenience on this important holiday,&#8221; Schenck said.
In another post to X, Williams <a href="https://twitter.com/RepWilliams/status/1739420034248622340" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Capitol Police were investigating the incident along with local law enforcement.
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&#8220;Thankful for law enforcement working today (&amp; every day). 5 cars responded to our home,&#8221; Williams said. &#8220;The deputies &amp; troopers were polite, professional, &amp; prompt. God bless them.&#8221;
Also on Christmas Day, Greene announced in a post to X that she had become the victim of a &#8220;swatting&#8221; incident — <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/marjorie-taylor-greene-targeted-with-fake-shooting-swatting-calls-police-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">again</a> — while her family was visiting for the holiday.
Maj. Rodney Bailey, who works with the police department in Rome, Georgia, said someone based in Rome, New York, called the suicide hotline claiming to have shot his girlfriend at Greene&#8217;s address and warning he would kill himself next, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/police-confirm-christmas-swatting-incident-marjorie-taylor-greenes-hou-rcna131131" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBC News</a>.
A Rome police spokesperson said her department called Greene&#8217;s security team and a police response to the congresswoman&#8217;s home was cancelled at their behest, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-is-not-the-first-incident-marjorie-taylor-greene-swatted-at-her-home-on-christmas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire previously reported</a>.
While officials have not tied the incidents together, Rome, New York, is located in Oneida County, which, like Cayuga County, is located in the center of the state. The congressional district represented by Williams <a href="https://ziplook.house.gov/htbin/findrep_house?ZIP=13440" target="_blank" rel="noopener">includes Rome</a>.
In her social media post, Greene thanked local law enforcement for their efforts.
“My local police are the GREATEST and shouldn’t have to deal with this,” Greene <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1739312209996497293" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post to X. “I appreciate them so much and my family and I are in joyous spirits celebrating the birth of our savior Jesus Christ!”

Rep. Brandon Williams

Second House Republican Gets ‘Swatted’ On Christmas

Second House Republican Gets 'Swatted' On Christmas

New York

Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/marjorie-taylor-greene" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marjorie Taylor Greene</a> (R-GA) said on Monday that she was swatted at her home on Christmas, which she estimated was approximately the eighth time that it has happened to her.
The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/12/25/news/marjorie-taylor-greene-gets-unwelcome-christmas-day-surprise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the incident happened when someone called a suicide hotline and claimed that he shot his girlfriend and said he was threatening to commit suicide.
&#8220;I was just swatted,&#8221; Greene wrote on X. &#8220;This is like the 8th time. On Christmas with my family here.&#8221;
&#8220;My local police are the GREATEST and shouldn’t have to deal with this,&#8221; she added. &#8220;I appreciate them so much and my family and I are in joyous spirits celebrating the birth of our savior Jesus Christ!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I was just swatted.
This is like the 8th time.
On Christmas with my family here.
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!
&mdash; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1739312209996497293?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
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A spokesperson for the Rome Police Department in Georgia confirmed the incident in a statement that noted &#8220;this is not the first incident.&#8221;
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&#8220;As we were preparing to respond, we reached out to her security detail and it was determined that there wasn&#8217;t any emergency and that she was safe,&#8221; said Kelly Madden, a public information officer for the department. &#8220;Our response was actually canceled en route.&#8221;
&#8220;Swatting&#8221; refers to a sinister harassment tactic where someone reports a fake emergency to law enforcement, usually something involving violence, with the hopes that law enforcement responds to the incident with a SWAT team. Swatting incidents have led to people getting <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/14/us/swatting-sentence-casey-viner/index.html">killed</a>.

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‘This Is Not The First Incident’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Swatted At Her Home On Christmas

'This Is Not The First Incident': Marjorie Taylor Greene Swatted At Her Home On Christmas

Georgia

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