A bogus account of a shooting at a South Carolina home owned by Nikki Haley sent authorities scrambling in late Dec, but the Republican presidential candidate, a former governor of the state, was not there at the time.
Reuters, which obtained the information as part of a public records request, published details on Saturday about the Dec. 30 “swatting” incident, which intended to draw a heavily armed law enforcement response.
An unknown person had called 911 and “claimed to have shot his girlfriend and threatened to harm himself while at the residence of Nikki Haley.” The case remains under investigation. The details of the incident took nearly a month to emerge, a stark contrast to a series of high-profile “swatting” attempts that targeted politicians and government buildings in Dec and early Jan. Haley campaign didn’t comment.
Swatting is the filing of false reports to the police to set off a potentially dangerous response by officers. Swatting cases have surged over the past two months, targeting both allies and rivals of former President Donald Trump as he campaigns to return to the White House. The targets include figures who have publicly opposed Trump, such as Maine secretary of state Shenna Bellows, a Democrat who barred him from her state’s primary ballot. Judges and at least one prosecutor handling cases against Trump have been targeted. But Trump backers such as US representative Marjorie Taylor Greene have also faced swatting attempts. NYT & Reuters