SWATing Incidents Part of Blogger Battle

An on-going and nasty feud between left and right-leaning political bloggers has spilled over into the world of public safety communications with a rash of 911 SWATing telephone calls reporting critical incidents. The incidents expand the usual list of motives for making prank and malicious calls to comm centers, hoping to generate a heavily-armed law enforcement response to someone’s home. In these latest incidents, a convoluted group of political bloggers—including a convicted felon—has been trash-talking each other on-line for the past several months. Last week the dispute between Brett Kimberlin and several others bloggers hoping to expose Kimberlin as a criminal turned serious. Someone called the Macon County (Geo.) sheriff pretending to be blogger Erick Ericksen. The caller spoofed Ericksen’s unlisted home telephone number, and reported that he had accidentally shot his wife. Sheriff’s deputies arrived to investigate, but had been forewarned by Ericksen that such calls might be made, so the man and his family were unhurt. Days earlier, Los Angeles County (Calif.) deputy district attorney Pat “Patterico” Frey was also the victim of a SWATing call (story & logging tape). He is a frequent on-line critic of Kimberlin, and believes the call was made in retaliation for recent postings about Kimberlin. A third man in New Jersey was also reportedly the target of a SWATing call to local police.  SWATing incidents more commonly are made as pranks, albeit with the potential for dangerous consequences. Several past incidents have been investigated, and notable arrests have been made in Texas. So far, no one has been injured or killed as a result of the calls.