A vocal conservative politician recounts being “swatted” as she savored Christmas Day with her loved ones. On social media, Republican Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said that she had been the victim of numerous false police reports. The threat of swatting is growing in the United States, but fortunately she has a security detail to protect her.
On December 25, Greene sent a post on X (formerly Twitter) complaining “I was just swatted. This is like the 8th time. On Christmas.” She added that her local police “shouldn’t have to deal with this.” A Rome (GA) Police Department spokesman confirmed the incident, saying a call came in requesting emergency services and the call had been geolocated to Greene’s address. The department responded to the call, but on the way, they spoke to Greene’s security detail to confirm she was safe — and learned that there was no emergency.
“Swatting,” where someone calls in a fake emergency at the victim’s house, has become a regular occurrence for Greene. She was first targeted on August 24, 2022, when an anonymous caller claimed a shooting was in progress at her home. Later that day the caller made another call to police, claiming they’d swatted Greene because they disagree with her opposition to the trans agenda. Just one day later, someone claiming to be “Wayne Greene” claimed they’d just come out as transgender and hinted they’d shot their family. Police again responded and confirmed there was no emergency.
Fortunately for Greene, the police will contact her security detail to determine the severity of the situation in the event that she is swatted. Not many of us can afford it, and swatting has killed a few people. An Oklahoma police officer was wounded in 2015 while responding to a false 911 call. After an altercation started in an online game in 2017, police shot and killed a guy from Kansas during a swatting incident. After authorities raided the home of a Tennessee man in 2020, the man suffered a heart attack and died. Now activists are using it as a tool for political harassment, and it’s a serious threat.
