Georgia GOP Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene has claimed that both of her daughters’ homes were targeted in swatting incidents.
This comes after several similar incidents involving Ms Greene and a number of other public officials.
“Both my [daughters’] houses just got swatted today. Big thanks to the police who responded! We appreciate you and support you! Whoever is doing this, you are going to get caught and it won’t be funny to you anymore,” she wrote on X, tagging the FBI.
Ms Greene has called for the defunding of the agency.
A swatting incident is when someone makes a prank call to the emergency services to set up a response to a specific location, such as the home of a politician or other public figure, with the aim of getting the authorities, possibly a SWAT team, to appear at the address.
A number of recent false reports of shootings at the home of political leaders may now be leading to harsher penalties for those making the calls.
Those who have recently been targeted include Florida Senator Rick Scott, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Ms Greene, and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
Several Georgia lawmakers who have been targeted argue that the penalties for swatting must be increased, such as laws passed this year in Ohio and Virginia.
On Monday, a New York man called the Georgia suicide hotline shortly before 11am, claiming to have shot his girlfriend at Ms Greene’s home in Rome, Georgia and that he was going to take his own life, Rome Police spokesperson Kelly Madden said, according to the AP.
Police contacted Ms Greene’s security detail to confirm that she was safe before the police response was cancelled after the call had been found to be a swatting attempt.
Hundreds of swatting incidents take place each year, with some callers using caller ID spoofing to hide their numbers. Public officials are far from the only people targeted.
Earlier this year, the FBI announced that it had launched a national database tracking swatting incidents following months of reports from police of an increase in fake calls reporting school shootings.
Synagogues and other Jewish institutions have also been targeted following the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
By 2019, there were more than a thousand swatting incidents annually, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
