A series of swatting incidents targeting conservative commentators and journalists have transpired nearly every evening since March 11, according to X posts in which the victims shared video surveillance footage and photos of the events, sparking questions as to who is engaging in what Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) called “domestic terrorism and attempted murder.” FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem have also reacted to the wave of dangerous crimes.
The term “swatting” refers to an anonymous attacker targets someone by making a false call to emergency services — using anonymous tools like Google Voice or VPNs to make it appear the call is coming from a certain location — and telling authorities a murder or hostage event is transpiring at a particular address. Swatting is designed to prompt SWAT teams to arrive at the targeted home and descend on unsuspecting victims, which in the past has lead to deadly encounters and murder charges for the offender.
At the time of this writing, at least 15 figures in conservative politics and media have reported being swatted within the course of one week.
The string of swatting incidents seemingly began on the evening of March 11, with InfoWars reporter Chase Geiser revealing in an early morning March 12 X post that six to eight “police officers used a PA system to call me by name and order me to walk out of my house.”
“I was handcuffed in the middle of the street, presumably at gunpoint, though I couldn’t tell because of the light being shined on my face,” Geiser recalled. “I was then led into the house where my wife was woken up and we were informed that they received a call from someone pretending to be me and threatening to kill my family.”
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Geiser told Breitbart News that he was swatted “twice in one day, so I was bracing for the second one.” He also noted that the incident occurred “just days after our reporter Jamie White was murdered.”
The InfoWars journalist further surmised the swatting attacks are “coordinated” adding that he believes they are “connected to antagonism toward Ukraine.”
“These violent times have violent ends,” Geiser said, adding, “To hell with Ukraine.”
The following night, independent journalist Nick Sortor announced his family was swatted after his sister received a menacing email.
“Both my dad and my sister were swatted tonight,” Sortor wrote in an X post published in the early morning hours of March 13. “A dozen cops attempted to kick my dad’s door in at gunpoint. This is literal fucking terrorism. And the FBI should treat it as such.”
“Before calling in the swat, this dumbshit sent my sister an email calling me a Nazi, of course. So the motive is clear,” the journalist continued. “In my dad’s case, the caller told police my dad was killing my entire family, requiring them to intervene with deadly force.”
“This is nothing short of attempted murder. They wanted the police to kill my father,” Sortor asserted.
The journalist suspected the attacker’s motive was to encourage him to end his work in conservative media.
“Unfortunately for the swatter, I WILL NOT stop. I WILL NOT shut up. And you WILL NOT win,” Sortor declared. “If anything, my family is behind me even more than they were before. Because they just got a first hand look at the forces I’m fighting with on a daily basis.”
Conservative commentator Gunther Eagleman — who boasts 1.3 million followers on X — also took to social media to reveal he had been swatted the following day.
“Some ignorant fuck called in a fake hostage situation,” Eagleman said. “Fortunately, I have good relations with law enforcement, and extra patrols will be added. I don’t tolerate threats and will find the culprit.”
In a follow-up post, Eagleman shared photos of authorities outside his home, and praised them for “quickly” realizing the incident stemmed from a false report.
“We have one hell of a SWAT unit out here,” he wrote. “Thankful for their commitment to ensuring safety and glad they QUICKLY understood what happened.”
Eagleman told Breitbart News that the swatting unfolded with his family being held at gunpoint by authorities until his house was cleared, but noted the matter was rapidly deescalated.
The conservative commentator added that pizza his family never ordered was sent to his residence “a few months ago,” cash on delivery, “then the swatting on Thursday with another pizza order 30 minutes after the swatting.”
Like others who have been targeted, the receipt for the pizza included specific instructions for the delivery driver to “bang on door.”
As the multiple swatting incidents began circulating on social media, nationally syndicated conservative radio talk show host Joe Pagliarulo revealed in a March 13 X post, “I was swatted two nights ago.”
Pagliarulo shared video footage of the incident, explaining he had initially decided to refrain from disclosing the attack because he didn’t want to give it “oxygen,” but changed his mind after seeing it was not an isolated event, and hoping that shedding light on the matter may help others being targeted.
The conservative radio host explained that at 2:35 a.m. he received an alert on his phone notifying him that a home security camera sensed “movement at the front door.”
Pagliarulo said that upon examining the footage, he saw “a guy holding an AR-15, with a cap on, looking in my window,” and was not immediately certain that the armed man outside his home was an officer.
“Now, at that point, you say to yourself, ‘Well, I’ve got a rifle, too,’” Pagliarulo said, adding that he instead decided to call the police on the off chance he was being swatted.
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The radio host said the 911 dispatcher confirmed police were at his residence and informed him authorities had received a report claiming “dogs have been shot, people were bleeding, and people were hiding” inside his house.
“I said, ‘None of that’s happening, please tell them to stand down. I’ll come out with my hands up while I have you on the phone with me, and I’ll explain what’s going on,’” Pagliarulo recalled.
“Thankfully, one [of the officers] knew that it was me, and we had a conversation,” the radio host added.
Pagliarulo deemed the swatting incident “a tactic of the left.”
“That’s a tactic of those who don’t like my politics,” he said. “Their hope is to either scare you — or have you come out and confront the police officers and get killed.”
“If I would have grabbed my AR-15 or my pistol and walked out the front door, I would have been dead in my doorway,” Pagliarulo asserted. “Had I taken any other action, I might have been killed at my house that night — and maybe that’s the result they want.”
Later that evening, conservative commentator and host of LFA TV’s UNGOVERNED Shawn Farash announced, “I’m being swatted right now” in an X post.
In a follow-up post, Farash revealed that multiple pizzas he did not order were delivered to his address from at least two separate establishments.
“Now Dominoes showed up to the house,” the conservative commentator wrote in a post one hour after his swatting announcement, adding, “We did not accept the pizza.”
“Now Papa John’s showed up,” Farash revealed in a follow-up post, to which Eagleman replied by sharing that he, too, had received an unwanted pizza delivery surrounding his own swatting incident.
Farash elaborated on the incident in a video posted to social media, stating, “Officers said they received a phone call that somebody murdered somebody in the house and was planning a suicide by cop,” adding that he and his wife “cooperated with police.”
“They were very nice,” Farash said. “They were not aware that this was going on across the country.”
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“If not for the professionalism of our Sheriff’s Department in Rutherford County, Tennessee, it could have been much worse,” Farash told Breitbart News. “Both my wife and I have never had guns pointed at us before and that changed on Thursday, March 13th.”
“I absolutely believe these attacks are coordinated due to the fact that many people who have been swatted had identical experiences, similar 911 calls, and the delivery of pizza to their homes with the same instructions to ‘bang on the door’ as well,” Farash added.
When asked if he noticed any patterns regarding those who are being targeted via swatting attacks, Farash — like Geiser and Pagliarulo — surmised it may have something to do with conservatives’ commentary about Ukraine, adding, “but that hasn’t been confirmed.”
“The goal here I believe is to scare people in to silence, much like the ‘domestic terrorist’ label scared parents away from school board meetings in 2021 and 2022,” Farash presumed.
“While this will be difficult to trace, I believe it can and will be done thanks to new leadership at the FBI and the seriousness of these attacks,” he added. “Thankfully, we remained safe and I hope that others can say the same thing if it happens to them. I believe those behind this will be caught and punished to the full extent of the law.”
The night after Farash’s home was targeted — during the early morning hours of March 14 — independent investigative journalist Walter Curt proclaimed, “Was just swatted” in a 3:30 a.m. X post.
Curt shared video footage of the incident and advised others to “simply comply” with authorities if they find themselves in a similar situation.
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Curt told Breitbart News that while he was surprised he was targeted, he fortunately “did not panic” when he awoke in the middle of the night to find himself being swatted, as he had “just written an article about the swattings earlier in the evening” and “it was still fresh in my mind.”
The journalist was nonetheless perplexed as to “why exactly” he was attacked, citing having only around 50,000 X followers at the time of the incident, and being “a small account in comparison to the others who were targeted.”
Curt added that he believes this is a coordinated attack stemming from “a single group” using similar voice changers when placing fake calls to authorities across the country.
Like the others who were assailed, Curt noted having been sent unordered pizza, adding that he and others have noticed a pattern of “receiving pizzas within one day of the swatting, and all of them are the exact same order, and the phone numbers all link back to the local PD dispatch.”
Curt also told Breitbart News he believes it is unlikely that swatting targets are being chosen based on their Ukraine-related commentary, as “the list of people is growing daily,” and while all of the victims are conservative, everyone’s political commentary involves a wide range of topics.
“The only link truly appears to be the X platform,” Curt said, surmising the attacks could perhaps be adjacent to the left’s targeting of Elon Musk, whose Tesla dealerships and vehicles have been blitzed with arson in recent months.
The same night Curt was attacked, the popular X account Catturd — who boasts 3.6 million followers on Musk’s platform — revealed in a 3:45 a.m. post, “I was just swatted again for the 4th time.”
“I live in the middle of nowhere and know all the cops here (because of the past swattings),” Catturd explained. “They knew what it was immediately and just called me and sent one officer who I just had a great conversation with. Really nice guy.”
“I have the number they called from and will turn all the info over to the FBI today,” Catturd added. “My last two swatters are sitting in prison right now, this new one will be joining them soon.”
Conservative writer Mike Engleman responded to Catturd’s post, declaring that he, too, was swatted that night — at 1:30 a.m.
On Friday morning, FBI Director Kash Patel addressed “the alarming rise in ‘Swatting’ incidents targeting media figures” in an X post, declaring, “The FBI is aware of this dangerous trend, and my team and I are already taking action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.”
“This isn’t about politics,” Patel continued. “Weaponizing law enforcement against ANY American is not only morally reprehensible but also endangers lives, including those of our officers. That will not be tolerated.”
“We are fully committed to working with local law enforcement to crack down on these crimes,” the FBI director added, promising, “More updates to come.”
Then on Saturday night, conservative commentator Matt Van Swol announced in an X post, “I am being swatted right now,” later adding, “A call was made saying that I had murdered my wife and I was hiding in the basement with a gun.”
Van Swol shared footage of the incident, imploring his followers to “watch and understand how this could have gone horribly wrong if this was you and your home.”
“This is not a joke,” he added. “This is domestic terrorism.”
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Like other swatting victims, Van Swol also noted a “pizza delivery has arrived,” adding, “The phone number used to place the order was the number for our police department.”
In a follow-up post, Van Swol revealed he had a long phone call with one of the police officers who responded to the swatting call, adding, “He was so upset. We both acknowledged how the situation could have gone terribly wrong, for both of us.”
The officer “also informed me that two ambulances, a fire truck, and nearly every cop on duty that night in the entire county was staged or rushing to stage at our home,” he said.
“Although it was scary for us, it was also absolutely terrifying for the police force in Western North Carolina as well,” Van Swol added. “I want to commend the officer who calmly assessed the situation under extreme stress, his level head saved lives.”
Van Swol told Breitbart News the police record from the swatting attack was “horrifying to read,” explaining that police had falsely believed multiple men were inside his house, shooting people.
“I have three kids who were asleep in their beds at the time of the swatting,” he added.
Van Swol said that before being targeted, he was already aware of swatting attacks transpiring across the country, and had therefore personally walked into his local police department to warn them of a potential false report.
“I thought I was crazy for even doing it, and even I did not expect it to happen to me,” he said.
Unfortunately, “the information was not passed along to the officers working that evening and it was a complete surprise to everyone,” Van Swol said.
Like Curt, Van Swol also surmised the swatting attacks have “only to do with voices on X.”
Meanwhile, Townhall columnist Dustin Grage took to X to reveal that he and his family had been swatted on Saturday night as well, adding, “Shortly after, we were also delivered pizzas we never ordered.”
“Not every victim of swatting has the same relationship with law enforcement as our family, nor may they have as excellent police departments,” Grage said. “Some aren’t as fortunate, and innocent people lose their lives as a result.”
The Townhall columnist went on to say, “We aren’t taking this lightly. We are treating this threat seriously and see it no differently than an intentional attack on the lives of my wife, our young children, and myself.”
“Every law enforcement resource available will be used to track down whoever is responsible for these swatting attempts,” he added. “We will also be lobbying the highest levels of government to ensure justice is served and to push for stronger deterrents against future acts of terrorism.”
Then on Sunday evening, Sean George — an elected delegate for the state of Nebraska and coffee company owner, known as Beard Vet on social media — proclaimed, “Welp… Add me to the SWATTED List” in an X post.
George told Breitbart News the incident occurred during the early hours of Sunday morning, at 2:43 a.m.
“I hope they find the perpetrators behind this and charge them with the highest crime they can,” George said. “To me, it’s definitely a domestic terrorism, attempted murder case.”
“I have full faith in the authorities, and hopefully they can track these people down and bring them to justice,” he added.
In the meantime, swatting attacks against conservatives continued into the following week, according to columnist Larry Taunton and Trump campaign media surrogate Chad Caton, who both reported becoming targets during the early hours of Monday morning.
“I was in bed, but noticed Ranger, my German shepherd, was on the prowl, his ears up,” Taunton recalled. “I then saw a flicker of light on my BR door. Ranger went to investigate, I got my gun.”
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“I saw the silhouette of a man on my deck with an AR15,” Taunton continued. “I could hear whispers and saw two other men also in body armor, heavily armed.”
“I turned on a light and told them to identify themselves,” the conservative columnist explained. “They did as you’ll see, by I kept my weapon. It de-escalated from there.”
“The officers told me they’d received a call from someone claiming to be in my home and hiding while I shot people,” Taunton added of the fake 911 call.
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“These were good guys, just doing their jobs,” Taunton stressed, but reminded his followers, “This might have been a bloodbath” if it wasn’t for “restraint on both sides.”
“This was an attempt to get me and my wife killed. It ended in smiles, handshakes,” Taunton said.
Taunton told Breitbart News, “This is fundamentally who leftists are these days. It’s like what you’re seeing with the burning of Teslas and the burning of cities in 2020. When they don’t get their way, they adopt terrorist tactics.”
“And that’s what this is. This is terrorism,” Taunton continued. “It’s an attempt to assassinate people by proxy. They’re weaponizing local police and sheriff’s departments as proxy assassination squads. And they don’t care who gets killed.”
“They don’t care if police officers, deputies get killed, if I get killed, my wife and children,” he added. “They’re creating, very knowingly, a highly combustible atmosphere where this could happen.”
Taunton also pointed out that more lives in other parts of town could be put at risk due to police departments putting all of their resources into addressing false swatting calls.
“Not only can [fake 911 calls] get me or police killed, but let’s say you live on the other side of the county or town, and you have a genuine emergency, and all resources are over at my house chasing down a bogus call, that’s terrible,” he said.
Caton, meanwhile, shared photos of a similar event transpiring at his house the same night, telling Breitbart News the incident unfolded at 3:00 a.m. when he “heard a bang at the door” followed by his dog barking.
“I reached for my sidearm, of course, thinking I’m being broken into, but then I remembered all my buddies had been getting swatted,” Caton said. “I put my gun down and walked in my living room. My glass door was filled with lights and an officer yelling at me to put my hands up.”
From there, police ordered Caton to walk to his door and open it slowly, “Then they put me in handcuffs and asked who else was in the house. I said my wife was still in the house, and my dog,” he said.
Caton explained that his wife was then ordered to come to the door with her hands up.
“I will never forget standing behind one of the officers with a rifle trained on my door, and seeing my wife open the door with a rifle pointed at her head. And I just kept saying to him, ‘Please don’t shoot my wife,’” Caton told Breitbart News.
Once Caton and his wife were outside, “all the officers lined up at the front door with their hands on each other’s shoulders and their rifles trained inside my house, they then, just like the movies, went through and cleared my whole house,” he said.
Their dog, who Caton’s wife had locked in a separate room for safety measures, was then let out so that officers could clear that room as well. After authorities decided the area was secure, they removed the handcuffs and explained why they had arrived.
“They said that they got a call from me, Chad Caton, that I was in my house, hiding, and that there were armed gunmen in my house,” Caton told Breitbart News of the fake 911 call.
Later that day, at around 6:00 p.m., “I started getting pizzas delivered to my house, constantly,” Caton added. “That’s their [the attackers’] calling card. They send pizzas after the swatting.”
After that, former nurse and alleged Bill Clinton rape victim Juanita Broaddrick — who announced on Friday that three pizzas she did not order were delivered to her house, also with instructions to “bang on the door” — revealed on Monday night that she, too, had been swatted.
“About ten police and swat team showed up,” Broaddrick said. “They said the caller said there were two masked men and people inside had been shot.”
“This shit needs to stop,” she added.
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“Whoever is doing this needs to face justice,” Elon Musk said in response to Broaddrick’s post.
The latest swatting incident occurred on Tuesday night, according to InfoWars reporter Owen Shroyer, who shared harrowing footage of himself being detained by authorities outside his house after a fake call was made to police.
Shroyer shared several videos from the incident, including one captured on his cellphone that showcased how the swatting unfolded.
“I assure you, this is a nonstarter, gentlemen,” the InfoWars journalist says to police, who respond by ordering him to remove his shirt and walk backwards, toward the officers, with his hands on his head.
While approaching the officers, Shroyer adds, “Just so you guys know, I’m home alone. This is a false police report,” to which one officer replies by demanding the journalist continue walking backward toward authorities, while another says, “We hear you, bro, we just gotta do our job.”
“Absolutely,” Shroyer responds.
The journalist is then ordered to lay on the ground, where he is detained by authorities while sirens wail. Officers can then be seen descending on Shroyer’s now-empty house, shouting, “Austin Police Department, make yourself known! Come to the front door!”
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“Here come the pizzas,” Shroyer declared in an X post the following afternoon, sharing multiple videos of the bizarre pizza deliveries that infamously arrive before or after each swatting attack.
On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi reacted to the swatting crisis in an interview with Fox News, calling the incidents “extremely dangerous,” adding that the Department of Justice is taking the matter “very, very seriously.”
“We are looking into all of these swatting investigations,” Bondi said. “They are not practical jokes. They are meant to terrorize the individuals within the homes, and they risk the lives of law enforcement officers.”
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FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino also responded to the swatting incidents, declaring in a Wednesday night X post, “Communication and transparency are my priorities. We work for you, the American citizen.”
“Our teams are actively working on the Tesla incidents and the swatting incidents, along with our other responsibilities to keep the Homeland safe,” Bongino added.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we will not sit idly by as conservative new media and their families are being targeted by false swatting,” U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a Wednesday X post.
Noem added that the Department of Homeland Security “has the ability to trace phone numbers and track location information.”
“We will use it to hunt these cowards down. This is an attack on our law enforcement and innocent families and we will prosecute it as such,” Noem said.
“Swatting is domestic terrorism and attempted murder,” Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) said on Monday. “Too many of my constituents are being targeted by Leftists, hoping to silence their speech.”
“This is not a game. It’s political violence. Someone could get killed. Congress must act NOW,” Ogles added.
“Anyone found guilty of swatting someone else regardless of political affiliation should be tried for attempted murder,” Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) declared on Monday.
“This needs to be investigated and prosecuted as a RICO conspiracy,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said on Wednesday.
“Swatting is a violent criminal act,” U.S. Attorney for DC Ed Martin said on Thursday. “If any perpetrators are discovered in the District of Columbia or originate from here, you will be arrested, we will put you in jail and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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