“SWATing” Is Epidemic. Do These Units Consider Who the Targets Are?

There is news today that federal District Court judge Tanya Chutkan was “SWATTED” yesterday. It turns out on Christmas day so was Special Prosecutor Jack Smith. After ruling Trump would not appear on the GOP primary ballot in Maine their Secretary of State was also SWATTED. Lest we think this is a one-way problem GOP officials have been targeted with this dangerous action. It IS dangerous. People have died during these incidents and much as I despise GOPers like MTG or Senator Rick Scott I don’t want anyone in their homes (including them) injured or killed. Or having a heart attack and dying as happened to a man in Tennessee. Nor do I want to see LE injured or killed by someone who has firearms in their home and in a panic starts shooting at people who’ve suddenly burst into their house or apartment.

So, for those who might not yet know what is SWATTING? It’s when someone calls up LE with a false claim of a dangerous situation in a house or apartment, or house of worship or even school to provoke a full-blown tactical law enforcement response. The cops you see all geared up in body armor, with not just assault weapons but specialized tools for breaching doors and windows, sometimes wearing stun grenades and other gear. It can cost thousands of dollars to deploy a SWAT team – not just the actual team but other LE to provide support. That takes away the ability to respond to legitimate crimes/emergencies by the way. The lives cost can be not only at the address that’s been SWATTED.

There’s a decent and recent write-up about the problem and how it’s grown in Time Magazine you can read here.  However it started out, even if at first almost always a stupid prank it’s evolved into something quite malicious in intent. Ordinary people with grudges against someone else or some business. Then celebrities. And as I noted houses of of worship and schools. Now it’s spread to politicians and other government officials.

Now, in some cases such as with the Christmas attempt on Jack Smith’s home the deployment was called off before they got there.  As you might expect Smith has a serious security detail (both for him and his family) and reports indicate the U.S. Marshalls on his detail realized what was in the works and called to say everything was fine. I’d imagine (although we’ve yet to get even that much information) that something similar happened with judge Chutkan who I’m sure also has one serious security presence protecting her, her loved ones and her home. Monitoring LE radio communications is something that level of security would do as a matter of course. But what about others?

Lots of high profile types have some security but absent specific and imminent threats not as much as you’d think. Remember what happened to Paul Pelosi? Had Nancy Pelosi still been Speaker there would have been govt. security still watching their home in San Francisco. Not anymore although I expect they’ve hired private security. My point is that there are a lot of VIPs and only so many LE that can be deployed on protective details for them.

What I wonder, and worry about are those in LE who command SWAT teams or those who dispatch them. I get that if a call comes in with certain threats the first thing is to get the right people mobilized. But let’s face it. The village idiot knows who these elected and appointed officials are. Their addresses. Even which ones have security details (private or govt.) and which ones have good home security systems. One would think that right after altering a SWAT commander the second (and immediate) thing they’d do is enter the name and address into a database of VIPs they SHOULD have and if the name or address “pops” a protocol for determining whether the threat is credible or likely fake. Before the whole machine gets ramped up! As I said, once the notice goes out not just a SWAT team (or more than one) gear up and deploy but other LE gets rushed to the area.

I know there are also various “tools” that can be used once on site to get a better picture of whether something is “going down” and if things seem quiet before storming a place perhaps better protocols for trying to establish contact with anyone inside might be in order. It’s complicated I know. Each situation is unique and if someone dies because a SWAT unit hesitates a lot of people will be affected in the worst possible way.

Still, when it’s certain people LE where they live know who the hell they are. If a SWAT call comes in it has to be taken seriously from the get-go but so does the possibility that the caller has malicious intent. With Jack Smith LE was told he’d shot his wife and others in the home might also be in danger. Under such circumstances people trained to take action are “wired” to do just that when deployed so I wonder how close they were to Smith’s home before the Marshalls got wind of things and had them stood down.

This whole phenomena is sick. The people instigating these incidents have grown quite sophisticated in covering their tracks. It’s domestic terrorism plain and simple. It’s a felony in fact. But it seems precious few culprits are identified and brought to justice. In my book it’s attempted murder, and should be prosecuted at the federal level where anyone convicted won’t be eligible for parole. Let em sit in jail for ten or fifteen years.