Several of Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees were targeted with “violent” threats to their homes, incoming press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday.
Leavitt did not name which Trump picks were targeted, but said the “attacks ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting.’
“Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were targeted with violent, un-American threats against their lives and those who live with them,” she said in a statement. first posted on X.
“In response, law enforcement acted quickly to ensure the safety of those targeted. President Trump and the entire transition team are grateful for their swift action,” she said.
The practice of “swatting” is when individuals call the police and falsely report that a serious crime is taking place in hopes of eliciting a response from the SWAT team.
Punchbowl News reports this that former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, whom Trump nominated to serve as his attorney general before a House Ethics Committee report forced him out of the House, received a pipe bomb threat outside his Florida home.
After the sheriff was notified of the threat, a bomb sniffing dog was brought to Gaetz’s home, but the sniff test results were inconclusive, so a larger bomb squad was deployed.
The former congressman was not home, but a family member was.
Several of Donald Trump’s presidential picks were targeted with “violent” threats against their homes, incoming press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday.
Members of the U.S. Secret Service’s Counter Assault Team are photographed during former President Donald Trump’s trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico in late October as he campaigned for a second term
Several of the candidates Trump has picked are members of Congress and so would historically be at home in their districts ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
That was the case with Rep. Elise Stefanik, whose office said she was driving home to Saratoga County, New York, with her husband and three-year-old son when authorities notified her of a bombing at her home.
“New York State, county law enforcement, and the U.S. Capitol Police immediately responded with the highest level of professionalism,” the statement said. “We are incredibly grateful for the extraordinary dedication of law enforcement officers who keep our communities safe 24/7.”
Stefanik is Trump’s choice for ambassador to the UN
There have been a number of high-profile swatting incidents in recent years, with the hoax calls targeting individuals including Trump’s top ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and special counsel Jack Smith, who oversaw the prosecution of the now-elected president.
Trump himself fell victim to two assassination attempts during his 2024 presidential campaign.
One in Butler, Pennsylvania during a rally on July 13, where a bullet from Thomas Matthew Crooks’ gun grazed his right ear.
A second potential killer was arrested on September 15 near Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach.
That man, 58-year-old Ryan Routh, compared himself to Crooks in a letter to a Politico reporter from federal prison, saying they were both “ready to die for freedom and democracy.”
“President Trump and the Transition are focused on doing the work to unite our nation by ensuring a safe and prosperous future. With President Trump as our example, dangerous acts of intimidation and violence will not deter us,” Leavitt said in a statement.