Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley on Sunday revealed new details of the recent swatting incident that occurred at her home in South Carolina.
During an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Haley said that while she was not home when the incident occurred, her parents, aged 87 and 90, along with their caregiver were in the house.
“I will tell you that the last thing you want is to see multiple law enforcement officials with guns drawn pointing at my parents and thinking that something happened,” the former South Carolina governor said. “It was an awful situation.”
Haley, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president, also indicated that her home had been swatted before. “It wasn’t the first time. I think we’ve had it happen twice,” she said.
Haley added that the recent incident “goes to show the chaos that’s surrounding our country right now and the fact that these things are happening.”
“Swatting” occurs when a person falsely reports a crime in progress to draw law enforcement to a particular location.
Haley’s home in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, was swatted last month after a man claimed he shot a woman and said he was at risk of harming himself at her home, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing town records.
The swatting incident happened Dec. 30 when an unknown person called 911 and made false claims that prompted authorities to respond to the fake emergency, Craig Harris, Kiawah Island director of public safety, told town officials on Dec. 30, according to the report.
“It was determined to be a hoax. … Nikki Haley is not on the island and her son is with her,” Harris wrote in the email, the report said.
A suspect or potential motive was not mentioned in the email.
Haley noted on Sunday, “I’m not the only one that’s happened to,” referring to a rise in swatting incidents in recent months that have targeted political figures and members of the judiciary — a phenomenon that enforcement experts say is a result of a contentious political climate amid the 2024 presidential election season.
In a post to X, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said a swatting incident took place at his home on Saturday night.
“Tonight my family and I were the target of a “swatting” incident involving a 911 prank call that wrongly diverted a police presence to my home,” he wrote. “Sadly, this illegal and dangerous scheme is being used nationwide to target elected officials.”
Emmer said no one was home or injured from the incident, and he condemned what he called an “illegal abuse of police resources.”
