Conservative social media personalities across the country are reportedly getting the shock of a lifetime after being targeted by fake emergency service calls that prompt armed police officers to show up at their homes.

“It’s my birthday. My 3 kids are asleep upstairs. And someone sent armed police to my f****** house to scare me,” conservative commentator, Matt Van Swol, who previously worked as a nuclear scientist for the Department of Energy, shared on X on Sunday. 

Mr. Van Swol detailed the “scary” ordeal in a series of posts on social media, sharing video footage of the armed policeman approaching his North Carolina home at two o’clock in the morning. Mr. Van Swol notes that “the situation diffused quickly” after his wife answered the door, but reckoned that “things could have turned out differently.”  

The father of three claims that someone had called in a tip alleging that he had murdered his wife and was hiding in the basement with a gun. The officer later informed him that “2 ambulances, a fire truck, and nearly every cop on duty that night in the entire county was staged or rushing to the stage at our home,” Mr. Van Swol shared. 

So-called “swatting” incidents — a reference to the Special Weapons and Tactics team that the police will often assemble in response to serious crimes — have been reported by several conservative influencers over the past week. A conservative podcaster, Nick Sotor, shared that both his father and his sister had been swatted last Thursday; conservative host Shawn Farash reported falling victim to a similar scheme that same day. A columnist for the conservative outlet, Townhall, Dustin Grage, lamented on X that his family was swatted late Saturday night. 

“If you are a public conservative figure on this platform. Do not wait,” Mr. Grage warned on X. “1) Have a perimeter security camera system in place. 2) Call your corresponding police departments and make sure they have your personal cell phone number. You are at risk of being swatted next.” 

A popular political commentary account on X, @DataRepublican, compiled a list of right-wing influencers who had publicly reported being swatted in the last week — the tally exceeds a dozen. Although several of the influencers shared video footage of officers approaching their homes, their claims were not independently verified by the Sun. 

The startling rise in swatting reports caught the eyes of the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Kash Patel, who announced on Friday that the agency was “aware of this dangerous trend” and was “taking action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.” He added: “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. That will not be tolerated,” 

Although swatting may be chalked up as a cruel prank, hoax 9-1-1 calls have proven to be fatal. One of the most well-known examples occurred in 2017 when 28-year old Andrew Finch got caught in the crossfire of a feud between two gamers. The police were sent to Finch’s house after one of the gamers, Casey Viner, directed an anonymous online swatter, Tyler Barriss, to target what he thought was the house of his adversary, Shane Gaskill. Gaskill had, however, tricked Viner into calling the hoax threat to a home that wasn’t his, but turned out to be Finch’s. Finch, who had no connection to any of the men, was fatally shot by a police officer during the ordeal. Both Viner, Barriss, and Gaskill served jailtime for their involvement in Finch’s death. 

Swatters can be charged with several possible offenses under existing federal law including “interstate transmission of threats” or “false information and hoaxes.” Several states, including California, New Jersey, and Texas, have laws against calling in a fake bomb threat or false emergencies. Whether swatters are charged with a misdemeanor or felony, though, depends on the circumstances of the incident, such as whether someone was injured or killed. 

Swatting’s potentially deadly consequences are not lost on Senator Lee of Utah, who questioned on X, “Should swatting be prosecuted as attempted murder?” He continued: “If you send heavily armed men to someone’s house with a false assertion that a violent crime is being committed there, you’re creating a grave risk that an innocent person will get shot.”

A congressman from Texas, Brandon Gill, denounced the swatting incidents as “an extremely dangerous form of political terrorism.” He further pointed to a bill that he helped propose back in January, The Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act, which seeks to increase penalties on those found guilty of swatting. “Zero tolerance,” Mr. Gill wrote on X. 

Representative Andy Ogles, from Tennessee, upped the ante by sharing a graphic on X that called swatting “attempted murder” and “domestic terrorism.” He added: “Too many of my constituents are being targeted by Leftists, hoping to silence their speech. This is not a game. It’s political violence. Someone could get killed. Congress must act NOW.” 

So far, no arrests have been reported in connection to the alleged swatting cases.