ATL Standard

On Christmas Day, U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) revealed that she was the victim of a swatting attempt when a false emergency call led police to her Georgia residence. In a subsequent post, Greene disclosed that later in the week, another family member had been subjected to a similar swatting attempt. She emphasized the necessity for legislation designed to streamline prosecution processes.

In a series of statements, Greene expressed her concerns and plans to address the issue. "The dangerous swatting harassment continues, as tonight, one of my family members was swatted at their house," she said. The Congresswoman further announced her legislative intentions: "I will be introducing legislation to make it much easier for law enforcement to arrest and prosecutors to prosecute these criminals."

In a post on Christmas Day, Greene recounted her experience: "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. I appreciate them so much and my family and I are in joyous spirits celebrating the birth of our savior Jesus Christ!"

According to AP News, a man from New York called the Georgia suicide hotline under false pretenses, claiming he had shot his girlfriend at Greene's residence and intended self-harm. The call was swiftly transferred to police once hotline responders recognized Greene's address. After liaising with Greene's private security team, authorities confirmed her safety and determined that no emergency existed at her home; they subsequently labeled the incident as a swatting attempt. As such, law enforcement canceled their response after confirming there was no actual threat before reaching the location.

AP News also reported previous false claims involving reports of bodies found in various parts of Greene's residence which prompted police responses. However, closer collaboration with her security team now aids law enforcement in assessing threats more accurately. Investigations are ongoing to identify the caller behind the latest incident on Christmas. In an earlier case, a New York man received a three-month prison sentence in August for making threatening calls to Greene's Washington, D.C. office.

Fox 5 explained that swatting involves falsely reporting emergencies to provoke an armed emergency response at someone's location. This practice includes hoax calls to emergency dispatchers, fabricating severe law enforcement crises that can potentially result in evacuations and disruptions. Some advocates argue that due to its potential to cause real harm and intimidation, swatting should be classified as terrorism.