What is swatting? All the celebrities who have been victims of dangerous viral trend

A dangerous viral trend known as “swatting” has received renewed attention this week after multiple members of Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees found themselves on the receiving end of it.

A statement issued from Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s spokesperson, called out the swatting threats that were made on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

The statement said: "Last night and this morning, several of President Trump's Cabinet nominees and Administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them.

“With President Trump as our example, dangerous acts of intimidation and violence will not deter us."

What is swatting and why is it so dangerous?

Swatting is a nefarious prank designed to make emergency services respond to a call. But the situation emergency services respond to is a hoax.

This callout often leads to a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team arriving to help respond to the situation in preparation for a violent or high-risk encounter.

It typically involves a troll finding out their victim’s address or location and then making a hoax phone call to the emergency services, claiming that there’s extreme violence taking place there.

The idea is to make the lie sound as urgent and threatening as possible to prompt an armed response. It’s a complete waste of the emergency services’ time and resources. It also puts innocent lives at risk.

Streamers, such as Adriana Chechik, have been victims of swatting. The person — or people — behind the hoax usually hopes that the police will raid the home of the streamer during a live broadcast so they can watch the dramatic action unfold.

In one high-profile case in 2019, a teenage Call of Duty player swatted an opponent two years earlier after losing a game. Police showed up at the wrong address, then shot and killed a totally innocent father-of-two.

President-elect Trump and his cabinet have been on the receiving end of swatting as the 2024 presidential election approached.

Streamer iShowSpeed urged his followers last year to stop with the dangerous practice after having law officials called to his house, saying that he “could have really died” after having guns pointed at him.

The FBI has said they take the threats seriously and are actively investigating the threats made to Trump's cabinet.

The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a joint warning in May about the threat of multiple swatting incidents targeting election workers. The frequency of the attacks increased in the weeks leading up to election day.

“Both foreign and domestic actors use swatting as a method to harass or intimidate individuals and businesses, including U.S. government officials, faith-based institutions, schools, journalists, company executives, and celebrities.”

Celebrities have been victims of swatting

A number of celebrities have been victims of swatting over the years, particularly in 2013. There were swatting incidents reported at the residences of Tom Cruise, Miley Cyrus, Caitlyn and Kris Jenner, Chris Brown, Clint Eastwood, James, Charles, Selena Gomez, Snoop Dogg, Jason Derulo, Iggy Azalea, and Sean Combs.

More recently, Jennifer Aniston was also a victim of the disgusting viral hoax when her home in Los Angeles was visited by police on Friday, September 20, 2024.

One notable case involved the swatting of Ashton Kutcher. A 12-year-old boy was charged in connection with the 2012 incident, he later admitted to placing a fake 911 call to lure police to Kutcher’s home.

The Beverly Hills Police Department later said about half of its emergency resources had been used during the Cruise swatting incident.

Kris Jenner also tweeted a very brief statement about swatting after police were called to her home in 2013. “kids are really stupid. you know you can get arrested for something like this? #pointless lol.”

The FBI first warned about swatting in 2008, and they issued another stark warning about this vengeful trend in 2013. “The FBI looks at these crimes as a public safety issue,” said Kevin Kolbye, an assistant special agent in charge in our Dallas Division in a statement. “It’s only a matter of time before somebody gets seriously injured as a result of one of these incidents.”

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