The Michigan candidates for U.S. Senate have been targeted by false threatening calls seeking to prompt a law enforcement response on successive days, the latest in a recent string of “swatting” incidents directed toward members of Congress.
On Thursday, law enforcement responded to a “swatting” hoax, or prank call to emergency services in the hope of dispatching law enforcement, to the home of U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly).
On Friday, the campaign of Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, her opponent for the open U.S. Senate, announced Rogers had also been targeted with a swatting incident.
Law enforcement responded to both calls and found there to be no danger to the false threats.
Slotkin told reporters Friday after a Lansing campaign event she was not home at the time of the threat, which “pulled out a bunch of law enforcement who should have been doing other things and should have been working on real security threats.”
“We know that they’ve been doing this to a lot of elected officials around the country, and I believe in accountability, and we will endeavor to work as hard as we can with the Capitol Police to get that,” Slotkin said.
Rogers campaign spokesperson Chris Gustafson in a statement confirmed a Friday swatting call to Rogers’ home in White Lake.
“Michigan State Police responded to the false threat and thankfully no one at the home was harmed. Mike and his family are beyond grateful for the professionalism and swift response of law enforcement,” Gustafson said.
He said Rogers was also targeted with a swatting hoax in 2013 while in Congress. He added the report from Thursday involving Slotkin, and Friday at Rogers’ home, highlights a concerning trend of political violence.
“This kind of violence cannot be tolerated, and it is our hope that those responsible will be quickly prosecuted and held accountable,” Gustafson said.
– By Nick Smith
