‘Signed With MAGA’: Hakeem Jeffries Says Bomb Threats Targeted Dems Days After Trump Team Announced Similar Incidents
‘Threats of violence against elected officials are unacceptable, unconscionable and have no place,’ Jeffries said
Trump Cabinet Nominees And Administration Appointees Threatened, Swatted Before Thanksgiving
Trump's cabinet nominees and their families faced violent threats overnight and this morning, Karoline Leavitt announced.Teen accused of targeting Pentagon, FBI agents, and colleges in hundreds of swatting incidents across United States
A 17-year-old male was extradited to and charged in Florida after he was arrested for an alleged swatting incident that saw 30 law enforcement officers respond to a mass shooting threat at a mosque.
Alan Filion from Lancaster, California, has allegedly been responsible for hundreds of swatting incidents and bomb threats throughout the United States, ABC 7 reported. Swatting is making a false report to police with the intention of getting a SWAT team to show up at a particular location.
The teen is now facing four felony charges over a call he allegedly made to law enforcement about a Florida mosque.
Filion allegedly called police about Masjid Al Havy Mosque in Sanford, Florida, and stated he was entering the house of worship to conduct a mass shooting. The call made references to satanism and claimed a gun and explosive devices were involved, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said in a press release.
The young male also played audio of gunfire in the background, the police document stated. The incident garnered a response from 30 law enforcement officers who arrived on the scene to find that the mosque staff were actually safe.
Filion was accused of creating accounts on different websites that offered swatting services and was eventually found out through various IP addresses connected to the accounts.
The Californian also allegedly targeted high schools, historically black colleges and universities, FBI offices, and FBI agents and made bomb threats against military bases and the Pentagon, CNN reported.
Four felonies are on the table in Florida, including making a false report that involved furthering the act of terrorism while showcasing prejudice. Officially, the lengthy charge read:
"False Report Concerning Planting of Bomb, Explosive or Use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction or Concerning the Use of Firearms in a Violent Manner While Facilitating or Furthering an Act of Terrorism and While Evidencing Prejudice based on the Race, Color, Ancestry, Ethnicity, Religion, Sexual Orientation, National Origin, Homeless Status or Advanced Age of the Victim"
Other felonies — which also involved alleged hate crimes — included "Unlawful Use of a Two-Way Communication Device," "False Report to Law Enforcement Concerning Commission of a Capital Felony While Facilitating or Furthering an Act of Terrorism," and "False Report to Law Enforcement Causing Public Safety Agency Response (Swatting) While Facilitating or Furthering an Act of Terrorism."
Documents stated that Filion has a "no-bond status," while CNN reported that he had entered a plea of not guilty.
"Swatting is a perilous and senseless crime, which puts innocent lives in dangerous situations and drains valuable resources," said Sheriff Dennis Lemma. "The substantial law enforcement response in this swatting case underscores our unwavering dedication to community safety and holding offenders accountable," the sheriff added.
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Rick Scott and other politicians report being swatted
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida and other politicians have recently reported being the targets of swatting, a term that refers to false reports meant to instigate a law enforcement response.
"Last night, while at dinner with my wife, cowards 'swatted' my home in Naples. These criminals wasted the time & resources of our law enforcement in a sick attempt to terrorize my family. Ann & I want to thank @NaplesPolice & @CollierSheriff for all they do to keep us safe," Scott explained in a post on X.
In a Facebook post that does not mention Scott, the Naples Police Department noted that on Wednesday night, "dispatchers received a call on our non-emergency line from an individual stating that a shooting occurred in the 3100 block of Gordon Drive. Within 15 minutes, we were able to confirm that the events did not occur, and the incident was a swatting event."
"Swatting is defined as a false report of an ongoing emergency or active threat of violence intended to prompt an immediate tactical law enforcement response. The response often prompts confusion on the part of the homeowners and pulls limited resources away from other possible valid emergencies," the department explained.
But the swatting phenomenon has recently impacted other politicians as well, including GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has said that she was targeted on Christmas day. "I was just swatted. This is like the 8th time," she noted.
"We determined before our personnel could get to her location that there was no emergency and there was no reason to respond," Rome Police Department spokesperson Kelly Madden noted, according to the Associated Press. "Her security detail had it all under control, and there actually was nothing going on."
Greene announced on Thursday that her daughters had been targeted: "Both my daughter's 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."
Republican Rep. Brandon Williams of New York also said that he was swatted on Christmas day. "Our home was swatted this afternoon," a December 25 tweet notes. "Thanks to the Deputies and Troopers who contacted me before arriving. They left with homemade cookies and spiced nuts! Merry Christmas everyone!"
— (@)
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was also reportedly targeted with swatting on Christmas. "For better or worse, my family are a bit used to it by now, and we have a good system with the department," she told WBUR.
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'Triggered by the White House': Steve Bannon's home swatted a second time in two months
On September 1 at approximately 7:17 p.m., Steve Bannon's home in Washington, D.C., and "War Room" headquarters was swatted. This is the second time in two months that Bannon, former chief strategist to former President Donald Trump, has been the victim of a swatting incident.
Swatting is a cyber harassment technique in which a false report of criminal activity is sent to law enforcement with the goal of having an armed emergency response team dispatched to a victim's location.
Within hours of President Joe Biden's speech castigating "MAGA Republicans" and identifying them as a "threat to this country," police were called to Bannon's residence in the 200 block of A Street NE. They had received a tip that there was an active threat of a shooter. Firefighters and paramedics also reported to the scene.
According to Fox News, police quickly determined that no shots had been fired and that there was no active threat. Bannon was allegedly not at home at the time.
Bannon told the Daily Mail that the White House's use of inflammatory rhetoric seemed intended to prompt leftist extremists to kill their political opponents. "This is 100 percent triggered by the White House: the White House spokeswoman earlier that day, Biden's announcements over the last couple of days. The White House is trying to use this type of violence," he said. "They're stirring up the unstable people on the far left to do this."
Swatting can be used as a form of indirect assassination. A number of past false reports have resulted in deaths.
In 2017, 28-year-old Andrew Finch was killed in a swatting incident. Law enforcement, responding to a fake hostage threat in Wichita, Kansas, killed Finch when he answered the door. The agitator responsible for getting Finch killed, Tyler Rai Barriss, was also held responsible for several other swattings. He pled guilty to 51 federal charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Mark Herring was another such swatting victim. When Tennessee police were dispatched to his house in April 2020 in response to a fake emergency call, Herring suffered a fatal heart attack.
Just as swatting victims sometimes end up gravely injured or dead, police are similarly at risk.
Police Chief Louis Ross was shot multiple times in 2015 when he, along with other Oklahoma police, busted down swatting victim Dallas Horton's door. Ross survived, thanks to a ballistic vest, and Horton was not charged. The swatter was, however, arrested and charged with making a bomb threat.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is a recent victim of two consecutive swattings.
Greene's swatting on August 25 was the result of a message sent to a suicide crisis center alleging that an individual had come "out as transgender" and "shot the family." The caller also stated, "If anyone tried to stop me from shooting myself, I will shoot them," and indicated they were ready to fire upon police.
Greene suggested that it was Providence she didn't answer the door while armed, otherwise the swatting would have claimed her life. "I just believe that it was truly a God thing that I had that feeling not to carry that gun with me to the door," she said. "Had I have done that ... I probably would have been the target."
"The calls are very specific and the calls are to trigger the police to use deadly force," said Bannon.
He was previously swatted on July 8 around 10:45 a.m. while his radio show was live. Heavily armed members of the Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Capitol Police swarmed the 68-year-old's house and, as a precaution, shut down several roads near the Capitol and Supreme Court.
\u201cAssistant Chief Carroll provides an update on an incident at 3rd and A St., NE\u201d— DC Police Department (@DC Police Department) 1657301100
Although Bannon regarded both swatting incidents as politically motivated attempts on his life, he suggested that death would be the left's only way of ending his involvement in the American political scene. "I'm never going to stop, so they'll have to kill me first."
'They wanted me to be murdered': 'Never before seen' security camera video shows swatting of Marjorie Taylor Greene's home
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) recently released security camera video of her home being swatted. The Republican representative from Georgia vehemently spoke out against the swatting – saying that those behind the fraudulent 911 call wanted her "to be murdered."
During an interview with Right Side Broadcasting Network (RBSN), Greene shared "never before seen security camera footage" of the potentially deadly swatting incident at her home in Rome, Georgia.
Someone called 911 to report an alleged shooting at Greene's home early Wednesday morning. The caller alleged that a man had been shot five times in the chest and was lying in a bathtub. The shooter was allegedly a woman with a loaded gun who was suicidal. The 911 caller claimed that there were children in the house.
Greene said police officers were looking for "a female with a gun that is threatening to kill herself."
"They were responding to a very serious issue that they knew someone supposedly had been shot – probably dead, maybe not dead yet," Greene said of the police officers who responded. "They knew someone was suicidal, had a loaded gun in their hand. And there were children in the home."
Security cameras at Greene's home captured the moment that police arrived.
Video shows the cops inspecting the outside of the home.
"I came down the hallway, and I came out of my hallway, and I looked around to look at the front door, and I saw police out there," Greene explained. "And I was like, 'Oh gosh, there's something serious going on.'"
"It really upset me because usually, I mean, if the police are coming to your house in the middle of the night, there's a serious thing," she added.
Greene instantly thought that maybe something tragic had happened to her children – who are away at college.
She said that the officer's demeanor and body language was "tactical" as he asked her, "Is everything okay, ma'am?" She told them that she had been asleep and didn't understand why law enforcement officers were at her door in the middle of the night.
The officer told Greene, "I think you've been swatted."
Greene – who is a staunch Second Amendment supporter – thanked God that she didn't bring her gun with her to greet police at the door, or it could have been a far more dangerous encounter.
"I probably would have been the target and that is the whole purpose of swatting someone," she stated.
Greene invited police – who still had their guns drawn – into her home to do a search.
Greene said the officers from the Rome Police Department are "amazing," and handled the intense situation by being calm and level-headed.
"This is what gets people killed. There have been multiple incidences just like this one where police ended up shooting someone because they believed they were responding to a call," she pointed out. "And that's what was happening to me."
"They wanted me to be murdered," Greene emphasized. "Death by cop – that's what swatting is, and they were doing this in hopes that the police would kill me."
Greene said she was swatted two nights in a row. The second time, police were familiar that the call could be a swatting hoax.
\u201cWATCH: Never before seen security camera footage.\u201d— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1661652370
Greene claimed that the person behind the swatting call allegedly confessed to authorities that they did so in reaction to the representative's Protect Children's Innocence Act.
Last week, Greene introduced a bill against so-called "gender-affirming care" for children – which would make puberty blockers and gender-changing surgery for minors a felony.
Greene last week introduced a bill that would make it a felony to provide gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
Greene claimed that liberals are furious at her for introducing the bill, "They're so angry at me that they want to kill me for it."
Local law enforcement and federal authorities are investigating the swatting hoax call.
\u201cMarjorie Taylor Greene @RepMTG tells @JackPosobiec about being swatted again:\n\n"I am against transgender surgeries for children. I have taken a very strong stance against it, and they are angry at me for that. They wanted to have me murdered by police."\u201d— The Post Millennial (@The Post Millennial) 1661705580
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