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U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville has joined Senate colleagues Rick Scott, R-FL, and Mike Rounds, R-SD, to introduce the Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act.
“Swatting” occurs when an individual makes a false report of an ongoing emergency or threat of violence in order to intimidate someone by sending a significant law enforcement presence to their address. Although swatters may consider swatting to be a harmless prank, there are multiple instances of individuals dying as a result of being swatted.
In 2017, 28-year-old Andrew Finch died when he was fatally shot by law enforcement who believed they were responding to active hostage situation in Wichita, Kansas. In reality, the police had been misled by a swatting hoax.
The Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act would “impose strict penalties for swatting, including up to 20 years in prison if someone is seriously hurt because of a swatting attack,” according to an official press release from Tuberville.
“Swatting is a serious problem that must be addressed,” Tuberville said in an official statement. “My home was swatted twice around Christmas last year in a dangerous attempt to intimidate my family and me. Our brave men and women in blue shouldn’t have to use valuable time and resources answering hoax calls when they could be protecting communities and getting criminals off the street. I’m proud to join Senator Scott in standing up to these criminal hoaxers, making our communities safer, and keeping our law enforcement officers out of harmful situations.”
Sen. Scott also spoke on the new legislation.
“The cowards behind ‘swatting’ calls intentionally waste the time and resources of law enforcement and put people in danger in an attempt to inflict fear in communities and terrorize their targets,” said Scott. “It’s absolutely despicable and those responsible must face real consequences for their actions.”
“Swatters have attempted attacks on my family’s home, the homes of public officials, Trump administration nominees, and so many others – it has to stop. That’s why I introduced the Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act to crack down on these attempts. I’m proud to lead this important bill in the Senate again and look forward to its passage,” Scott added.
In the House of Representatives, Rep. David Kustoff, R-TN, is sponsoring the legislation alongside a bipartisan coalition. The bill has also been endorsed by law enforcement groups like the National Association of Police Organizations, the Fraternal Order of Police, and the National Sheriffs’ Association.
