Bomb Threats and Swatting Attacks Target Trump’s Cabinet Picks and Appointees “`
NEW YORK — President-elect Trump’s transition team reported Wednesday that numerous key Cabinet nominees and appointees have been targeted with bomb threats and swatting attacks. The FBI is conducting an investigation.
“Several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and Administration appointees were targeted last night and this morning with violent and un-American threats against their lives and the lives of their families,” Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated.
She explained that these attacks included bomb threats and swatting incidents, where false emergencies are reported to trigger a law enforcement response against a specific individual. This tactic has seen increased use recently.
“Law enforcement and other authorities responded promptly to ensure the safety of those targeted. President Trump and the entire Transition team are thankful for their swift action,” Leavitt added.
Among those targeted were Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY), Matt Gaetz (FL), and former Rep. Lee Zeldin (NY), Trump’s EPA nominee.
According to a law enforcement official speaking anonymously due to the ongoing investigation, Susie Wiles, Trump’s incoming chief of staff, and Pam Bondi, Trump’s choice to replace Gaetz, were also targeted. Wiles and Bondi haven’t yet responded to requests for comment.
The FBI declared in a statement that it is “aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees” and is “working with our law enforcement partners. We take all potential threats seriously and urge the public to report anything suspicious to law enforcement immediately.”
Stefanik’s office reported that she, her husband, and their three-year-old son were driving home from Washington for Thanksgiving Wednesday morning when they learned of a bomb threat at their Saratoga County residence.
“New York State, County law enforcement, and U.S. Capitol Police responded immediately and very professionally,” her office stated. “We are incredibly grateful for the extraordinary dedication of law enforcement officers who protect our communities 24/7.”
New York State Police said a team responded to the bomb threat at Stefanik’s home Wednesday morning but found no explosives. A spokesperson directed further inquiries to the FBI.
Zeldin shared on social media that he and his family had received threats.
“A pipe bomb threat targeting me and my family at our home today included a pro-Palestinian message,” he posted. “My family and I were not home and are safe. We are cooperating with law enforcement as this situation unfolds.”
Suffolk County (Long Island) police reported that emergency responders went to an address listed as Zeldin’s home Wednesday morning following a bomb threat and examined the property.
In Florida, the Okaloosa County sheriff’s office stated that it “received notification of a bomb threat referencing former Congressman Matt Gaetz’s supposed mailbox at a home in the Niceville area around 9 a.m. this morning.”
While a family member lives at the address, they said “former Congressman Gaetz is NOT a resident. The mailbox was checked, and no devices were found. The area was also searched, and nothing was discovered.”
Gaetz was Trump’s initial pick for Attorney General, but that selection was withdrawn amid allegations of paying women for sex and having sexual contact with underage women. Gaetz has strongly denied any wrongdoing and stated last year that a Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls concluded without any federal charges against him.
These threats follow a political campaign marked by disturbing and unprecedented violence. In July, a gunman fired at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing the then-candidate’s ear and killing one supporter. The U.S. Secret Service later stopped a subsequent assassination attempt at Trump’s West Palm Beach, Florida, golf course after an agent spotted a gun barrel protruding through a perimeter fence while Trump was golfing.
Public figures across the political spectrum have faced hoax bomb threats and false reports of shootings at their homes in recent years.
The judges presiding over the civil fraud case against Trump in New York and the criminal election interference case against him in Washington, D.C. were both targeted earlier this year. Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who recently dropped the two criminal cases against Trump, was also the target of a fake emergency call last Christmas Day.
Earlier this year, schools, government buildings, and the homes of city officials in Springfield, Ohio, received numerous hoax bomb threats after Trump falsely accused members of Springfield’s Haitian community of abducting and eating cats and dogs.
And in 2022, a large number of historically Black colleges and universities nationwide were targeted with dozens of bomb threats, with most occurring during Black History Month.
The U.S. Capitol Police stated Wednesday that, “Anytime a Member of Congress is the victim of a ‘swatting’ incident, we work closely with our local and federal law enforcement partners. To protect ongoing investigations and to minimize the risk of copycats, we cannot share more details at this time.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson called the threats “dangerous and unhinged.”
“This year, there were not one but TWO assassination attempts on President Trump. Now some of his Cabinet nominees and their families are facing bomb threats,” he said. “This is not who we are in America.”