US Must Stop ‘Swatting’ From Becoming an Election Weapon
A flurry of targeted attacks as the presidential race heats up is a symptom of years of ineffective mitigation against a tactic that turns police forces against innocent people.
Senator Rick Scott of Florida said he was a target.
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Already it’s being referred to as the “Season of Swatting.” In the past couple of weeks, political figures on both the left and the right have been the targets of fake police calls designed to put them in harm’s way. Action is needed to stop such tactics from becoming a potentially deadly weapon during this darkly contentious election cycle.
Swatting, derived from SWAT, is the term for placing a hoaxed call to lure armed officers to the location of an innocent and unsuspecting victim. Last week, Senator Rick Scott of Florida, a Republican, said “cowards” swatted his home while he was out having dinner with his wife. Representative Brandon Williams of New York was targeted at his home on Christmas Day, as was fellow Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia — the second time she had been hit in a week.