Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was the target of a swatting call — a call designed to unnecessarily lure a large, armed police presence to a particular home — on Wednesday morning, police said.
The Rome Police Department said in an incident report that police received a call from a VA crisis line shortly after 1 a.m. about a man who been “shot 5 times in a bathtub.” The crisis line said a female was still in the home and “possibly had some children inside with her,” police said.
Officers learned the home belonged to Greene while en route to the residence, the report said. Still unsure of what was going on, police made a “tactical approach” to the congresswoman’s home and rang her doorbell.
When Greene answered the door minutes later, she said there were no problems at the residence, the report said. She said she would alert the relevant security services and requested a “keep check” on her home.
After the visit, the police department received a phone call from the suspect claiming responsibility for the incident with a computer-generated voice, the report said.
“They explained that they were upset by Ms. Greene’s stance on ‘trans-gender youth’s right’ and stated that they were trying to ‘SWAT’ her,” police said. The suspect claimed to be connected to a website that supports cyberstalking, according to the report.
Police did not confirm if an arrest was made and said the incident is under investigation.
Greene confirmed the incident on Twitter and thanked the authorities who responded.
“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,” she tweeted on Wednesday.
Speaking on Newsmax after the incident, Greene said “this is how they get people killed,” likening it to “political terrorism.”
Rep. Adam Kinzinger also tweeted about the incident, writing that he was the victim of two swatting calls in 2012.
“It’s extremely dangerous and whoever did this, if intentional, should be prosecuted,” he said.
