Representative Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., interacts with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13 and is among several Cabinet picks and others targeted by swatting calls and bomb threats Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Pool Photo by Allison Robbert/UPI |
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Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Several of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet and administration picks said they were targeted by bomb threats and swatting calls Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
"Law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted," Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday in a prepared statement. "President Trump and the entire transition team are grateful for their swift action."
Swatting refers to someone calling to falsely report an incident to spur a potentially violent police reaction to a specific address or location while targeting an individual or group.
Leavitt said several of Trump's Cabinet nominees and administrative appointees were "targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them."
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Brooke Rollins, Howard Lutnick and Lee Zeldin said they were targeted and reported the threats to law enforcement.
Stefanik is Trump's nominee for ambassador to the United Nations and received a bomb threat to her home in New York.
"This morning, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, her husband and their 3-year-old son were driving home to Saratoga County from Washington for Thanksgiving when they were informed of a bomb threat to their residence," Stefanik's office said in a statement.
State, local and U.S. Capitol Police responded to the threat.
Lutnick is Trump's pick for secretary of Commerce and was targeted with a bomb threat at his home that was phoned to 911, the New York Police Department said.
Zeldin and his family were targeted by a pipe bomb threat at their home that included a pro-Palestinian message.
Zeldin in a post on X said he and his family were not at home when the threat was made and reported it to law enforcement. He is a former congressman and is Trump's choice for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Rollins, likewise, said her home and family were targeted by a threat and is Trump's nominee for secretary of secretary of Agriculture.
The FBI is helping law enforcement investigate "numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees," the FBI said Wednesday in a statement.
"We take all potential threats seriously, and as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement," the FBI statement said.
President Joe Biden was notified of the bomb threats and swatting calls.