Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene was swatted at her home last night just after one o’clock in the morning.
Swatting is a harassment technique where a call is made to law enforcement to lure them to a location where responding officers believe a serious crime has either taken place or is in progress.
The U.S. lawmaker wrote on Twitter about the incident, stating: “I cannot express enough gratitude to my local law enforcement here in Rome, Floyd County. More details to come.”
Last night, I was swatted just after 1 am.
I can’t express enough gratitude to my local law enforcement here in Rome, Floyd County.
More details to come.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) August 24, 2022
Swatting can result in the death or serious injury of an individual. As such, it is an illegal practice punishable by possible incarceration, fines, and/or additional penalties.
A police report obtained by The Daily Beast showed police arrived on the scene and found no one had been shot.
“We then made the approach to the residence, still unsure of exactly what had transpired or what was still in process,” the local police department wrote. “After several minutes, we were met at the door by the victim.”
Greene told political commentator Jack Posobiec she was asleep when the police knocked on her door. After seeing lights come on outside and hearing a doorbell, she jumped out of bed and put clothes on. Greene said that under normal circumstances she would answer the door with her firearm, but, based on a gut instinct, decided not to take her gun this time.
“So I put my gun down and I just went down the hallway and the house was still dark. And I came around the corner and looked out the windows and there, I saw the police outside and they had their guns, they were ready because they had received a terrible phone call to the 911 center,” she said.
“And I opened the door and the officer standing there, he said, ‘Ma’am, are you okay? Is everything okay here?’” she added. “But it was the body posture of the police that was really concerning me.”
After Greene explained that she was okay and had been asleep, the officer who knocked on her door called for his sergeant, who was around the corner of the home.
The officers informed her that someone called 911 and reported that someone had shot either her husband or boyfriend in the chest five times in a bathtub.
According to the police report, after officers cleared the home, the swatter called back. Greene said the second call stated there were children in the home.
“911 received a call from the suspect, claiming responsibility for the incident and explaining his/her motives.”
“They explained they were upset about Ms. Greene’s stance on ‘trans-gender youth’s rights,’ and stated they were trying to ‘swat’ her.”https://t.co/XdDXeTLVj1
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) August 24, 2022
“So with those phone calls, they were setting up a very serious, dangerous scenario in a home,” she said.
Greene invited the officers into the home to look inside. They told her they then realized she had been swatted.
“And they were upset, rightfully so and angry. And I was very upset,” she said. “I could not believe someone would do that. And I was shocked, because not only did they put my life and my family’s life in danger, they also put the police officer’s lives in danger. So, whoever this person is, they deserve to be locked up.”
