OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
1:40 PM – Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Republican New York Representative Brandon Williams’ residence was “swatted” on Christmas day, with several police officers responding to an emergency false call.
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On Monday, Williams (R-N.Y.) stated that the Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office notified him before they arrived at his upstate New York home, which prompted relief at the false call of emergency.
“Our home was swatted this afternoon,” he announced on X, formerly Twitter. “Thanks to the Deputies and Troopers who contacted me before arriving. They left with homemade cookies and spiced nuts! Merry Christmas everyone!”
Williams, whose House district includes the cities of Syracuse and Utica, also mentioned that United States Capitol Police and local police officers were examining who called in the false emergency that resulted in five cruisers sent to his home.
“The deputies & troopers were polite, professional, & prompt. God bless them,” Williams added.
“Swatting” refers to people who file false police statements, typically of reported violence, in order to surprise their victim with a heavily armed SWAT team visit.
In recent years, “swatting” has grown in frequency as a form of online harassment, particularly among celebrities and online live streamers. When police are called to a house, they are frequently misled into believing that there is a threat there, which puts the victim in danger.
It remains unknown what reported incident the officials were responding to in Williams’ case.
Williams is now the second member of Congress to get “swatted” on Christmas day.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) also announced that her residence was approached by local police officers after they received a false emergency call.
Armed law enforcement officers were alerted to come to Greene’s residence after a misleading call was put in to a suicide hotline in which a person alleged to have “shot his girlfriend and was threatening to kill himself.”
Greene announced on X that this occurrence was the eighth time that she has been “swatted.”
To better combat the practice of “swatting,” the FBI initiated a nationwide database for the incidents in June.
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