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Jocelyn Benson latest 'swatting' target in Michigan

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson speaking into a microphone
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. (BridgeDetroit file photo by Malachi Barrett)

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said she was the target of a false emergency call meant to swarm her Detroit home with armed police. 

Benson posed a statement to social media Monday evening stating that she was the target of two “swatting attacks” based on her role as Michigan’s top election administrator. Swatting is when someone makes a prank call to police reporting a dangerous situation in an attempt to dispatch armed police to their address. The hoax calls can lead to accidental deaths, which caused the FBI to create a national database last year to track swatting attempts.

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“Swatting is a form of political violence that is horrific, dangerous and intended to terrify its victims,” Benson said in a statement. “But hear me clearly: I will not be intimidated.” 

“These threats never have and never will deter me from my job: ensuring Michigan citizens can have confidence in their secure, fair, accurate elections. I will continue to stand with election professionals throughout Michigan to guard every citizen’s vote no matter who they are, where they live, or who they vote for.” 

    Benson’s Detroit home was previously targeted by roughly 25-30 protesters, some reportedly armed, who demanded that she overturn the 2020 presidential election. No arrests were made, but Benson said the demonstration was aimed at threatening her family. 

     

    Detroit Deputy City Clerk Andre Gilbert told BridgeDetroit on Tuesday that he received an email a day earlier from an anonymous account claiming people were being held at gunpoint inside Benson’s Detroit home. He reported the situation to police and notified Benson’s office.

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    Dispatch audio obtained by BridgeDetroit shows police discussing the false report, with one officer stating that emergency responders have been receiving “a lot of prank phone calls.” U.S. Senate candidates Elissa Slotkin and Mike Rogers were also reportedly targeted by swatting attempts last week. 

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    Gilbert said election officials are working with local police and the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to report intimidation of election administrators. 

    “It’s not derailing us from our goals, we’re going to continue to move forward,” Gilbert said. 

    Kayleigh Lickliter contributed to this report.

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