WASHINGTON (DT) — Last week, DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services responded to the White Houseafter a 911 caller falsely claimed there was a fire. This is just one example of a dangerous trend targeting public figures called crushing.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), swatting is a prank in which someone calls 911 simulating some sort of emergency, such as a hostage situation, fire, or mass shooting, that attracts the attention of law enforcement. ‘order – usually a killer team.
These pranks can be extremely dangerous. In December 2017a man – Andrew Finch – was shot and killed on his porch during a crushing incident in Wichita, Kansas.
They also waste resources. In fact, every incident is estimated will cost between $15,000 and $25,000.
Squash events have been on the FBI’s radar for 20 years. For example, between 2002 and 2006, more than 100 incidents took place in 60 cities. Many of these early incidents involved games banners who targeted opponents in the hope of following the incident live. But then the trend spread to target celebrities like Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Ashton Kutcher And Kim Kardashian.
Today, it is becoming more and more political with Senator Rick Scott And Representative Marjorie Taylor Green being recent targets.
There is no official government data indicating for certain whether there has been a recent increase in crush events. However, the fact-checking team contacted the FBI and this is what they told us:
“In response to the national call against the crash, the FBI launched the Virtual Command Center (VCC) known as the National Common Operation Picture (NCOP). The NCOP-VCC is a collaborative effort between the FBI and law enforcement partners to track and create a real-time picture of crash incidents. Established in May 2023, this initiative is open to all law enforcement agencies and fusion centers who wish to participate in tracking and sharing information about crashes in the respective jurisdictions. Since its inception, more than 550 swatting incidents have been reported to the FBI’s NCOP-VCC since May 1, 2023.
There is no federal law that specifically criminalizes swatting, which could make it difficult bring to justice. However, Senator Rick Scott has proposedlegislation Addressclose this gap by expanding a federal law to explicitly prohibit swatting.
Currently the overwrite is typically prosecuted for false information and hoaxes law (18 US Code 1038), punishable by up to five years in prison. This sentence can be up to 20 years, or even life in prison, if a person is seriously injured or if a death occurs as a result of the hoax.
For example, in 2019, a Californian was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for calling police in Wichita, Kansas, in 2017, during which a man was shot and killed by police.
State-level sanctions vary. For example, in California, making a prank call to 911 is a misdemeanor and can result in a $1,000 fine and a year in county jail; the penalty increases if harm occurs.
In New JerseyA false report of a bomb threat, active shooter or hostage situation can result in a sentence of five to 10 years in prison if it results in a greater police presence or 10 to 20 years if someone is hurt.
Recently, Virginia enacted a law that increased fines to $2,500 and made it a felony if someone is hurt; And West Virginia legislators introduced a Invoice that would classify swatting as a felony in their state.
