Throughout the country, conservative commentators and online influencers are facing a surge in a terrifying, dangerous, and highly illegal intimidation tactic: swatting.
Swatting refers to when someone makes a false emergency call to law enforcement, typically claiming a violent crime is in progress, to provoke a heavy police response—often a SWAT team—at an unsuspecting victim’s location. This dangerous hoax can lead to property damage, psychological trauma, and even injury or death.
Last week, conservative commentator Larry Taunton became the latest victim of the swatting epidemic. On a false tip, the sheriff’s office in rural Talladega County descended on Taunton’s house in full tactical gear, expecting to find three armed men “shooting people,” as a caller had alleged. Mercifully, Taunton and his wife were able to signal there was no threat before actual violence ensued.
In the last month, at least eight prominent conservative figures have been swatted. On March 13, conservative podcaster Nick Sortor’s father and sister were swatted. The caller alleged that Sortor’s father was murdering the family, which led to an aggressive police response.
Conservative radio host Joe Pagliarulo was also swatted that evening. He was awake at 5 a.m. when his security system notified him someone was outside his home. Cameras showed a shadowy figure carrying an AR-15. Thankfully, Pagliarulo had the presence of mind to call 911 and confirm that it was the police attempting to conduct a raid.
Pagliarulo was able to get the officer to stand down and confirm the call about violence in his home was false. But the intent of the swatting call was clear – to get Pagliarulo to grab his gun and go outside to confront the threat, where he likely would have been shot and killed by officers acting on a false report.
Infowars host Chase Geiser, meanwhile, had his home swatted twice within 12 hours. Similarly, Catturd, the amusing X handle for a prominent Trump supporter, was also swatted by police on March 14. This was the fourth time in the last several years that his home had been raided.
Mercifully, each incident was resolved without violence. However, this has tragically not always been the case.
In 2017 in Wichita, Kansas, for instance, police shot and killed 28-year-old Andrew Finch while responding to a swatting call. The dispute stemmed from a video game argument in which rival gamers placed the anonymous call, alleging that Finch was participating in a deadly hostage situation.
When Finch opened his door, a police officer shot and killed him under the false impression that Finch was reaching for a weapon. Finch was unarmed at the time. The perpetrator of the hoax was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
In 2020, Mark Herring, a 60-year-old computer programmer and grandfather of six, was swatted by a 14-year-old who wanted Herring’s Twitter handle, “@Tennessee.” Herring was so overwhelmed by the incident that he suffered a heart attack and died.
Prominent Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has been swatted at least eight times. In the most recent attempt last December, a police officer was involved in a fatal car accident while racing to Greene’s home.
Even if swatting victims can avoid physical violence, they often suffer from PTSD and other traumas. Further, many small towns with limited police forces are forced to allocate most of their departments to execute a SWAT raid. During that time, they cannot respond to other legitimate crimes that may be occurring.
While swatting is not a new phenomenon, the rash of swatting incidents targeting prominent conservative figures is an alarming new development.
FBI Director Kash Patel has stated that he is actively investigating the swatting incidents as domestic terrorism. “This isn’t about politics—weaponizing law enforcement against ANY American is not only morally reprehensible but also endangers lives, including those of our officers,” Patel said in a recent social media post.
These coordinated acts of terrorism against conservative leaders are far from the only dangerous acceleration of politically motivated violence on the left. Throughout the country, Tesla vehicle owners have had their cars vandalized, marked with swastikas, and even set on fire in an apparent protest against Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In some cases, drivers captured on dash cams have been seen deliberately trying to wreck into Teslas on the highway.
Tesla dealerships have also been subjected to arson attacks and, in one instance, even a drive-by shooting. Multiple websites have created databases of every known Tesla owner, apparently inviting violence against them. Anti-Trump activist Rick Wilson posted an article on Wednesday with the incendiary headline, “Kill Tesla, Save the Country.”
Since Donald Trump’s emergence on the political scene a decade ago, the left has insisted that it is Trump and his Republican allies who are “dangerous,” “fascist,” and a “threat to democracy.” But as the swatting epidemic and attacks on Tesla owners have shown, it is increasingly the left, not the right, that has devolved into violence to intimidate and even attempt to injure or kill their political opponents.
Andrew Shirley is a veteran speechwriter and AMAC Newsline columnist. His commentary can be found on X at @AA_Shirley.
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