GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley was a victim of a swatting attack last month after a man claimed to have shot his girlfriend at her South Carolina home, it was revealed on Sunday.
Swatting is when someone makes a false report prompting a police presence. Several politicians have recently fell victim to swatting attacks like Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. At least 27 swatting attacks of politicians, prosecutors, election officials, and judges have been documented by Reuters since last November. Swatting could result in injury or death as police are arriving to a home believing there to be danger present.
In late December, police responded to the former South Carolina governor's $2.4 million dollar home in Kiawah Island, a gated community, after receiving a 911 call from a man who "claimed to have shot his girlfriend and threatened to harm himself while at the residence of Nikki Haley," Craig Harris, Kiawah Island director of public safety, told town officials, according to an email obtained by Reuters.
"It was determined to be a hoax...Nikki Haley is not on the island and her son is with her," Harris said on December 30, the same day the swatting call was made.
A suspect nor a potential motive for the prank call was revealed in the email.
Harris, however, did say in the email that he was in contact with the South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS), the FBI, and Haley's security team, adding, "This incident is being investigated by all involved."
Newsweek reached out to Haley's campaign team and Harris via email for comment. It also reached out to SCDPS via phone for comment.
The FBI told Newsweek that they've seen an increase in threats of violence against government officials and that responding to fake threats ties up law enforcement resources.
"When the threats are made as a hoax, it puts innocent people at risk, is a waste of law enforcement's limited resources, and costs taxpayers. The FBI and our state and local partners will continue to aggressively pursue perpetrators of these threats – real or hoax – and hold them accountable," the FBI said.
A South Carolina FBI official said in a separate email obtained by Reuters that federal agents were tracking the call and planned to open a "threat assessment" of the incident.
Meanwhile, things have heated up between Haley and her political rival former President Donald Trump. Trump, who is the GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election, has attacked Haley on stage and over social media, calling her a "birdbrain" on his social media platform Truth Social. Meanwhile, Haley called Trump "totally unhinged" in an interview with Fox News on Friday.
The attacks between the two GOP opponents ramped up after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race last Sunday following the Iowa Republican Caucus earlier this month, leaving Haley and Trump as the only viable options ahead of the New Hampshire primary election. While Trump won Iowa and New Hampshire, Haley made it clear she is staying in the race, calling the GOP primary "far from over."
Update 1/27/24, 3:31 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
Update 1/30/24, 2:18 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from the FBI.
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Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in ... Read more
