OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
11:37 AM – Monday, January 15, 2024
The White House was the target of the most recent “swatting” incident after a 9-1-1 call falsely claimed that there was a growing fire inside and that someone was trapped in the Executive mansion.
On Monday morning, a source familiar with the incident informed the media that a large number of emergency personnel were dispatched to the White House in response to a 9-1-1 call that claimed there was “a fire and someone [is] trapped inside.”
President Joe Biden was not present inside the residence or on the property at the time of the incident, as he was reportedly spending the weekend at Camp David. Camp David was built as a retreat for the POTUS, federal government agents, and their families by the Works Progress Administration.
The call was made at 7:04 a.m. ET and was later linked to a now-inactive phone number. There were numerous District of Columbia’s Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department EMTs and paramedics dispatched to the White House.
The source stated that a substantial D.C. Fire and emergency response had already arrived at the scene when the call was discovered to be a false alarm.
“Fire in the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” the dispatcher said at 7:04 a.m. ET.
Less than ten minutes later, at 7:15 a.m., the situation was declared “all clear.” However, as of noon on Monday, police claimed that they still have no idea who made the phony call.
In addition, the insider source mentioned that Monday’s falsely-reported call was promptly labeled a “swatting” incident, providing yet another unsettling example of a concerning pattern that has become a trend across the United States.
Swatting refers to when a false report is made to the police with the specific intent of luring them to a location where they are made to feel as though a horrifying crime, such as a mass shooting, an impending bombing, or a hostage taking, has been committed or is in progress. This is known as “swatting,” which is a dangerous crime.
As a result of “swatting,” local police and SWAT teams may respond forcefully, and they have no way of knowing that the call is an insignificant scam.
Numerous federal officials, politicians, and celebrities around the nation have been the target of “swatting” calls. Recent targets of the shameful practice have included political figures such as Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D-Maine).
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