Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley was the subject of a graphic swatting attempt on New Year’s Day, just two days after another false emergency was reported at the GOP presidential candidate’s house.
The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office came to Haley’s home on Kiawah Island, South Carolina after someone allegedly called authorities and stated she had shot her kid and was threatening to hurt herself, according to Reuters.
Swatting is a phrase used to describe persons who make false emergency calls in order to intimidate another person with a police enforcement response.
A deputy went to Haley’s house and discovered the call was a hoax. However, the event occurred when a man lied to authorities on December 30 and claimed he shot a woman at Haley’s home, triggering a police response.
USA TODAY has contacted both the sheriff’s office and Haley’s campaign for comment.
In an interview with “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Haley addressed the first swatting call, stating she was not at home at the time, but her parents were. The former South Carolina governor mentioned that her parents are 87 and 90 years old.
“I will tell you that the last thing you want is to see many law enforcement officers with guns drawn, pointing at my parents, and assuming that something happened. “It is a terrible situation,” Haley stated.
Haley stated during the interview that she believed her family and home had been targeted twice, but she did not expand on the other occurrence.
The former UN ambassador is not the first official to have been swatted in recent months. Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s home was swatted on Christmas Day. In addition, the federal judge and special investigator in former President Donald Trump’s D.C. election involvement case were both swatted between December and January.
The source of this article is USA Today.