Dec. 26 (UPI) — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she was targeted by a “swatting” hoax on Christmas Day after a caller reported a bogus shooting and potential suicide at the lawmaker’s residence in Rome, Georgia.
“I was just swatted. This is like the 8th time. On Christmas with my family here,” Greene, R-Ga., posted Monday on X.
An unidentified man from Rome, N.Y., placed the emergency call to the suicide prevention hotline in Rome, Ga., falsely claiming that he shot his girlfriend inside Greene’s home and next planned to take his own life.
The emergency call led to a 911 dispatch that sent officers scrambling toward Greene’s home.
Before deputies arrived, local authorities reached out to Greene’s security team, who confirmed there was no such emergency and the police response was called off, according to Rome police Major Rodney Bailey.
Police have not disclosed whether they were able to trace the prank call.
Greene, who represents the 14th Congressional District in northwest Georgia, including Rome, Calhoun, and Dalton, thanked police for responding quickly.
“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!” Greene wrote.
Elsewhere, Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., said he was also targeted by a swatting incident on Monday.
“Our home was swatted this afternoon,” Williams said. “Thanks to the Deputies and Troopers who contacted me before arriving. They left with homemade cookies and spiced nuts! Merry Christmas everyone!”
Swatting involves perpetrators falsely reporting a critical incident such as a violent crime with the goal of prompting a SWAT team-like response to a targeted location.
The incidents are notorious for wasting valuable law enforcement resources while they often lead to serious criminal charges for offenders.
Greene has been targeted by the practice numerous times over the past year, with callers falsely reporting shootings and other various crimes in and around her home.
In 2017, Thomas Finch was shot dead by a police officer in his Kansas home in a swatting incident. Tyler Bariss, of Los Angeles, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to making the call.
