What is swatting? Why politicians are increasingly becoming targets.
According to authorities, the dangerous practice of swatting is on the rise and politicians are increasingly being targeted.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Monday that her home was the target of two swatting attacks within 48 hours aimed at threatening her as the state’s top election official.
Swatting is a fake call to the police in order to provoke an armed response. The incidents can put victims in danger when police arrive at their homes, assuming officers are responding to a horrific crime rather than a prank.
Benson thanked local and federal law enforcement for their response to the incidents. “Swatting is a form of political violence that is horrific, dangerous, and designed to instill fear and terror in its victims,” Benson wrote in a social media post shared on X on Monday night. “But hear me out: I will not be intimidated. These threats have never and will never deter me from my job: ensuring that Michigan citizens can have confidence in their safe, fair, and accurate elections.”
The Michigan Secretary of State’s office did not immediately respond to a request for further details, including whether her Detroit home was the target of the attack, whether police will investigate or whether there is any information showing how Benson knew the gunman was targeting her because of her work.
A request for comment was left with the Detroit Police Department.
In a previous turbulent election year, Benson’s home attracted demonstrators protesting former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss in Michigan. She described the nighttime demonstration as another attempt to intimidate her. “The demands outside my home were unambiguous, loud and threatening. They targeted me in my role as Michigan’s chief elections officer,” Benson said in a December 2020 statement responding to the incident.
In addition to Benson, other Michigan politicians and candidates have reported swatting attacks against them.
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On August 8, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) was the target of a swatting attack, according to her spokeswoman Lynsey Mukomel. Michigan State Police responded “to a false threat sent via email to a local elected official,” Mukomel wrote in an email. “The congresswoman was not home at the time, and Michigan State Police checked the property and confirmed no one was in danger.” U.S. Capitol Police will launch an investigation, Mukomel added.
The next day, Slotkin’s Republican opponent, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Brighton), who is in the race for Michigan’s vacant U.S. Senate seat, reported a swatting attack on his family members at their Livingston County home. “Michigan State Police responded to the false threat and fortunately no one in the home was injured,” Senate Communications Director Chris Gustafson said in a statement Friday. “This is the second time Mike has been the target of swatting, the first being in 2013 as a member of Congress, and reports that Rep. Slotkin was also targeted yesterday are a clear example of the deeply troubling trend of political violence that has quickly become the norm.”
Michigan State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Slotkin or Rogers incidents.
Contact Clara Hendrickson at [email protected] or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @clarajanehen.
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