Republicans ‘Swatted’ on Christmas Sparks Fury

Federal law enforcement is facing backlash after two Republican Congress members said that their houses were “swatted” on Christmas Day.

Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said that her house in Rome, Georgia, was swatted Monday morning while she and her family members were celebrating the holiday. New York Congressman Brandon Williams also said in a post to X, formerly Twitter, that his house in Cayuga County, New York, was swatted Monday afternoon.

“Thanks to the Deputies and Troopers who contacted me before arriving,” Williams wrote on X. “They left with homemade cookies and spiced nuts! Merry Christmas everyone!”

Swatting is the act of making a false report of a crime to another person’s address, which prompts law enforcement to show up at the individual’s home. Greene said on X that Monday marks the eighth time that her house has been targeted by swatting calls.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene leaves a House Republican conference meeting on October 24, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Greene criticized the FBI in response to a swatting call targeting her house in Rome, Georgia, on Christmas Day. Alex Wong/Getty Images

According to Major Rodney Bailey of the Rome Police Department in Georgia, who spoke with NBC News, a person from a different Rome, the one in upstate New York, made a call to the suicide hotline, claiming to have shot his girlfriend at Greene’s residence. Police contacted Greene’s security team regarding the call, and the team decided that police did not need to respond to the congresswoman’s home.

Newsweek has reached out to the police department in Rome, Georgia, for more information.

In the swatting of Williams’ home, Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck confirmed with Newsweek via email that its officers, alongside New York State Police, responded to a “reported confessed shooting” just after 2 p.m. Monday at the residence of the New York congressman. Schenck added that the report was “quickly confirmed to be false,” deemed a swatting incident.

The Cayuga County Sheriff’s Department is investigating to determine who was behind the false report. Williams said on X that Capitol Police were also investigating.

Users on X criticized the FBI in light of both swatting instances, including Greene, who condemned federal law enforcement for not being able to track down who was behind the calls made on her residence. Greene was targeted multiple times in one week in August 2022 by swatting calls.

“And after today, I have been swatted 8 times but the FBI can’t seem to figure out who is responsible for the swatting and says the law doesn’t allow them to track them down,” Greene wrote in a series of posts to X. “The FBI can do so many things, has even abused FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] to spy on hundreds of thousands of Americans, but can not figure out who wants me killed by a hail of bullets fired by a SWAT team responding to murder suicide calls supposedly coming from me.”

One X user wrote underneath Greene’s post that they were “not surprised, but it’s still appalling that the FBI doesn’t work for the country anymore, only the Marxist democrat party. Calling a suspect on the phone and taking his word over yours is disgraceful.”

Another user by the name Bob Hicks wrote, “Get rid of the FBI!”

Others also raised concerns under Williams’ post to X, including one user who said that it was “an act of treason to swat a representative.”

“They the Federal Government can find these people in no time,” another user by the name LiveJD wrote. “super easy if they were told to. trust me like 15 mins”

Greene said in her post to X that she plans on introducing legislation to track down swatters. She also said that her office received death threats from a man on December 21, adding that federal law enforcement had not made an arrest but had sent an email to Greene’s office regarding a phone interview officers had with him.

The congresswoman bashed the response from federal officers, comparing the incident to how the FBI has prosecuted those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“The outright absurdity of this email response and the fact that they have not arrested this guy is shocking, thankfully I’m a gun owner,” Greene wrote. “But compare it to how the FBI and DOJ treats J6’ers, Pres Trump, and their political enemies.”

“Incredible double standard,” she added.

Prosecution for swatting incidents varies, depending on state laws. In Georgia and New York, making a false report to law enforcement is punishable as a misdemeanor. New York State Assemblyman Scott Gray introduced a bill in April to make swatting a class E felony in the state.

Newsweek has reached out to the FBI Press Office via email for comment Monday.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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