United States: Republican US Representative – Marjorie Taylor Greene was the target of a swatting attempt on Christmas morning at her Georgia home, according to the congressman and local police, marking the latest of someone calling in a bogus emergency to send armed authorities or SWAT teams to her home.
The Rome Police Department swiftly determined that the call was a hoax and didn’t dispatch officers to the residence, according to department spokesperson Kelly Madden, according to AP.
“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,” Greene wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
According to Madden, a guy in New York called the Georgia suicide hotline shortly before 11 am on Monday, alleging that he had shot his fiancée at Greene’s House and was about to kill himself next. When suicide hotline operators identified the Georgia congresswoman’s address, the phone was swiftly routed to police.
Greene’s private security detail was contacted by the department to assure her safety and that there was no emergency at her apartment. Because the call was discovered to be a swatting attempt, the police response was canceled en route, according to Madden.
The congresswoman, who represents the northwest Georgia cities of Rome, Dalton, and Calhoun, spent her first term being stripped of committee assignments by the former House Democratic majority due to racist remarks, her embrace of conspiracy theories, and her previous endorsement of violence against Democratic officials. She has now gained more clout under the current Republican leadership of the House and remains a firebrand for the far-right.
Greene’s claim that she has been the target of approximately eight (8) swatting attempts is correct, according to Madden. Previous callers stated that dead bodies had been discovered in the bathtub and other areas of her home, which is located about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta. Last year, police responded to fake allegations of gunfire outside her home, as reported by Associated Press.
The department stated that officers were summoned to the property in reaction to previous occurrences but that officers have since built a close working relationship with Greene’s security detail, allowing officers to assess the threat level properly. Madden said the criminal investigations division seeks to identify Monday’s caller and establish a case.
In August, a man from New York was sentenced to three months in prison for making threatening phone calls to Greene’s Washington DC office.
Republican US Rep. Brandon Williams said in a post on X that he, too, was swatted on Christmas Day. The Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office stated that it got a false allegation of a shooting at the congressman’s residence in central New York and dispatched officers to ensure that there was no immediate threat. Sheriff Brian Schenck did not immediately return phone calls seeking additional information.
“Our home was swatted this afternoon,” Williams wrote. “Thanks to the Deputies and Troopers who contacted me before arriving. They left with homemade cookies and spiced nuts! Merry Christmas, everyone!” according to the report by AP.