Presidential Hopeful Nikki Haley Targeted in Politically-Motivated Swatting Incident

 Presidential hopeful Nikki Haley was the target of a swatting incident in late December when an anonymous person called 911 claiming to have killed his girlfriend at Haley’s South Carolina home, as per recent reports from Reuters and The Guardian. Authorities responded to the call on December 30, with the person claiming to have shot his girlfriend and threatened to harm himself, while giving out Haley’s address to the operator. It was later determined that this was a fake emergency and that both Haley and her son were not at home, as her husband was deployed overseas at the time.

The incident is currently being investigated by local law enforcement, South Carolina state police, the FBI, and Haley’s security team. This incident comes as part of a surge in swatting attempts against public officials in recent months, which has been noted as a tool of political intimidation. Earlier this month, special counsel Jack Smith and DC district court judge Tanya Chutkan, who are both involved in a federal case against Donald Trump, and other officials have been targets of similar swatting incidents, as reported by various sources including NBC News, The New York Times, and Reuters.

The details of the incident surrounding Nikki Haley took nearly a month to come to light, demonstrating the concerning rise of politically-motivated swatting attempts that target both allies and rivals of former President Donald Trump. This incident underscores the serious risk that these incidents pose to the individuals targeted, their families, and the law enforcement officers responding to these false calls.