On Monday, Senator Rick Scott, Senator Tommy Tuberville and Senator Mike Rounds introduced the Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act, which expands the federal criminal hoax statute to specifically prohibit “swatting” hoaxes through which false information about a crime is reported to law enforcement with the intent of eliciting an emergency response at a target address. This legislation would impose strict penalties for swatting, including up to 20 years in prison if someone is seriously hurt because of a swatting attack. Congressman David Kustoff is leading the legislation in the House of Representatives, and has been endorsed by the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) and the National Sheriffs’ Association.
Senator Rick Scott said, “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. 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.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville said, “Swatting is a serious problem that must be addressed. 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.”
