Current:Home > Contact-usSecret Service, Justice Dept locate person of interest in swatting attacks on DHS Secretary Mayorkas and other officials-LoTradeCoin
Secret Service, Justice Dept locate person of interest in swatting attacks on DHS Secretary Mayorkas and other officials
View Date:2024-12-24 00:23:01
Federal agents have located a person of interest in over 100 swatting calls, which included calls targeting Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure and Security Agency Director Jen Easterly and other senior Biden administration officials, according to law enforcement officials.
Officials say the person of interest lives in Serbia; charges have not yet been filed, but sources say they could be filed soon. The person of interest is alleged to have made phone calls targeting officials over the Christmas holidays, according to the sources.
Swatting is a dangerous and illegal scheme in which people try to harass or menace others by making false emergency calls in an attempt to prompt police to dispatch SWAT teams to the homes of public figures, celebrities or personal enemies.
Sources familiar with the matter said that U.S. Secret Service and the FBI participated in a search of the person of interest's residence in Serbia and confiscated computers and other electronic devices.
The chief of staff for Rep. Brandon Williams, a New York Republican who was the victim of a swatting on Christmas Day, confirms his office has been notified that a "foreign national living overseas" has been located in connection with the incident. Williams was featured in recent "CBS Mornings" and "CBS Evening News" reports on swatting.
The U.S. Secret Service, Justice Department, FBI and CISA declined to comment.
Scott MacFarlaneScott MacFarlane is a congressional correspondent. He has covered Washington for two decades, earning 20 Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards. His reporting resulted directly in the passage of five new laws.
TwitterveryGood! (36344)
Related
- Pentagon secrets leaker Jack Teixeira set to be sentenced, could get up to 17 years in prison
- 1 person is dead and 11 missing after a landslide and flash floods hit Indonesia’s Sumatra island
- Knicks' Mitchell Robinson invites his high school coach to move in with him after coach's wife died
- The fatal stabbing of a German tourist by a suspected radical puts sharp focus on the Paris Olympics
- DWTS’ Sasha Farber and Jenn Tran Prove They're Closer Than Ever Amid Romance Rumors
- Barbie doll honoring Cherokee Nation leader is met with mixed emotions
- Weeks later, Coast Guard is still unsure of what caused oil spill in Gulf of Mexico
- Exclusive: MLB execs Billy Bean, Catalina Villegas – who fight for inclusion – now battle cancer
- Arizona Supreme Court declines emergency request to extend ballot ‘curing’ deadline
- Renewed concerns about civilian deaths as Israel intensifies assault on southern Gaza after weeklong cease-fire ends
Ranking
- Trump pledged to roll back protections for transgender students. They’re flooding crisis hotlines
- College football bowl game schedule for the 2023-24 season: A full guide for fans.
- Michigan shuts out Iowa to win third consecutive Big Ten championship
- Defense head calls out those who advocate isolationism and ‘an American retreat from responsibility’
- Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid Enjoy a Broadway Date Night and All that Jazz
- Pope Francis says he’s doing better but again skips his window appearance facing St. Peter’s Square
- Vanderpump Rules Alum Raquel Leviss Makes First Red Carpet Appearance Since Scandoval
- Fiery crash on New Hampshire interstate sets off ammunition
Recommendation
-
Kate Spade Outlet’s Early Black Friday Sale – Get a $259 Bag for $59 & More Epic Deals Starting at $25
-
20 Kick-Ass Secrets About Charlie's Angels Revealed
-
Former Marine pleads guilty to firebombing Planned Parenthood to 'scare' abortion patients
-
Wu-Tang Clan members open up about the group as they mark 30 years since debut album
-
Mike Tyson-Jake Paul: How to watch the fight, time, odds
-
These 15 Secrets About Big Little Lies Are What Really Happened
-
Column: Georgia already in rarified territory, with a shot to be the best ever
-
Winter weather in Pacific Northwest cuts power to thousands in Seattle, dumps snow on Cascades