Prominent figures and institutions across the political spectrum have been targets of recent “swatting” incidents, including the prosecutors and judges in former President Trump’s legal matters and some of his fiercest allies in Congress. The White House was a target Monday when emergency responders were dispatched to a false alarm after a 911 caller claimed there was a structure fire in the building. President Biden was at Camp David, The Hill reports. Several state officials — such as Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who removed Trump from the presidential primary ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause, and Gabriel Sterling, chief operating officer of the Georgia secretary of state — have also fallen victim. That’s on top of bomb threats that prompted evacuations at state capitols early in the new year.
The trend is raising alarms among experts in political extremism and emergency management, who say swatting incidents targeting public officials will continue to increase as Trump’s criminal trials near before the 2024 election. “Like a lot of things that become normal and weaponized, [swattings] are sort of trolling tactics,” said Oren Sega of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. “They’re intended to not be as heavy or serious — for lack of a better term, almost run-of-the-mill harassment.” Swatting involves prank calling emergency services to report a serious criminal threat, with the goal of drawing a significant law enforcement response. The first swatting incidents were recorded in the early 2000s, oftentimes among gaming streamers who targeted other gamers in hopes that their opponent’s webcam would catch a live swatting attack.Over time, swatters began harassing celebrities, schools and more recently, public officials, said Prof. Lauren Shapiro of the City University o New York. said. Special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing Trump’s prosecution in two federal cases, was the focus of a swatting attempt on Christmas Day.