Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s residence in Rome, Georgia, was targeted in a dangerous prank known as swatting on Christmas Day, marking the eighth time she has been a victim of the scheme. Swatting involves a perpetrator calling the police, falsely reporting a severe crime, to lure SWAT teams to the victim’s home in a forceful law enforcement response.
While Greene praised the local police department for quickly recognizing the hoax and refraining from sending officers to her home, she expressed frustration with the lack of action being taken to catch the offenders responsible for the repeated swatting attempts. “The FBI can do so many things, has even abused FISA to spy on hundreds of thousands of Americans, but can not figure out who wants me killed by a hail of bullets fired by a SWAT team responding to murder suicide calls supposedly coming from me,” she said.
Swatting calls can have deadly consequences, as was the case in 2017 when a prank call led to police fatally shooting an unarmed man in Wichita, Kansas. Such incidents are taken seriously by law enforcement authorities, who are investigating the Christmas Day swatting attempt at Greene’s residence.
Despite being targeted multiple times before, the congresswoman continues to be vocal about her stance on various political issues, including her reluctance to wear masks amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A controversial figure, she has been stripped of her committee assignments by the House of Representatives over her past remarks supporting conspiracy theories, calling for violence against Democratic lawmakers, and promoting false claims of election fraud.
Greene’s experience with swatting underscores the risks associated with being a public figure and the dangers of using law enforcement as a means of harassment. In addition, it highlights the potential for political differences to translate into violent threats and the broader issue of online safety.