A Word About Swatting

self | J.Johnson

[jimjohn]

A Word About Swatting…
By J. Johnson

It appears to be the new rave among the enemy hostiles among us: The art of calling 911 with false statements in an attempt to generate a possibly lethal interaction with law enforcement. Although the expected response is outrage and shock, if we look at this through a ‘war time’ lens (thank you Joe Biden for saying the quiet part out loud), an analysis may provide a few lessons on how to address these matters down the road since of course – this could happen to any Real American fighting for freedom.

… and it probably will, unless we learn how to counter-act it.

A little background: Yes, this author experienced something similar years ago, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t political. It started with a pizza that I didn’t order, followed by an airport pickup service a few minutes later, and then came the ambulance. By then, I picked up the pattern and simply waited outside for the police – who came last. All this, while living in a neighborhood that most readers would call ‘sketchy’, yet no guns we ever drawn. It didn’t take long to determine the source. Without further details, the blame can be firmly placed on “Hell hath no fury…”  

…Yeah, you get the drift. This will come back up later. But back to the matter at hand…

As our opposition learns how effective this weapon can be when used against opponents, allow me to give an example of a possible future: Let’s say 1 out of even 10 folks with blue yard signs decide to scan the neighborhood for folks with red signs in their yards (or snakes on yellow flags, black & white American flags with cool colored stripes near the bottom, etc). Then make it a virtual campaign waging SWAT assaults on their enemies. See how this could get out of control fast? (See Germany 1934-1939)

But it’s not just the possibility of inducing an armed standoff with police. This weapon can also be used for at least 3 other benefits:

1. Let’s call it “The boy who cried wolf” syndrome – where so many calls target this one location to the point where when a real emergency happens (e.g. and assault from partisans of the initial “swat-ers”) the local authorities may not take it seriously, leaving the “swat-ee” to fend for themselves.

2. Victims may be forced to expend heavy resources on extra security enhancements, some of which may fly in the face of legal constraints, depending on location and past judicial engagements.

3. Gathering valuable intelligence on the target they may not have known before the SWAT call (which could lead to #1 above down the road).

Benefit #3 is where I’d like to focus, and the primary reason for this article.

Three of some of our most notable SWAT-ees are video podcaster Tim Poole (and associates), Steve Bannon, host of the video podcast “War Room”, and U.S. Congresswoman Marjorie-Taylor Greene (MTG). The multiple actions taken against this trio are widely known due in part to each of the above mentioned publicizing it themselves. And this is where the author takes issue. Would it be better if it were NOT publicized, instead allow law enforcement and/or your own counterforce to investigate and track down the perpetrator?

Let’s think about what we know about the SWAT-er: They have the location of their target. They are probably using a “safe”, possibly untraceable phone (or at least they think). And unless the cops are plain stupid, the perp is probably somewhere in the vicinity of the target, or in contact with someone who is.

Stupid, you ask?

In each of these cases, the swat caller explains that a deadly standoff or incident has occurred at the target’s location. Assuming police are smarter than this author, the 911 dispatcher should have the tools at their disposal to determine if the caller is actually near or at the location of the target – else how would the caller know about the allegations they are spewing? E.g., swat-er makes call from area code (or cell tower located in) XXX but target is in area code (or nearest cell tower) located in YYY; 90+% chance is this a false 911 call if the person is claiming they are seeing or hearing something that requires a SWAT-like response.

Now, for those thinking the cops are in on it and simply want to harass/intimidate the targets, then why bother waiting on a phone call? Been watching the FBI, etc. in action, lately? In most cases the calls are made to a local 911 operator (need a fast response, right), who show up not knowing what to expect. And in the era of mass-shootings, no one wants to be blamed for not responding in full force against such threats. (Unless you’re in Uvalde, TX, Pulse NightClub and a few other places). But I digress…

What’s the easiest way for a SWAT caller to know if their operation was a success if the call was ruled a hoax and there was no hostile interaction? ANS: Wait for the victim to report it, and it gets picked up in the news cycles. After all, you know how some on our side think playing the victim is somehow a positive thing.

It’s like someone firing an artillery shell toward your home from a distance, not knowing if they actually hit the target – until you go public and confirm it.

The enemy learns more than merely a successful operation, they could also learn police response times, what equipment may accompany the response, the layout of the area-of-operation, and the target’s response. And if per-chance the enemy has concurrent operations going on during the swat callings, even more valuable information can be gathered (aerial signal [SIGINT] and/or human intelligence [HUMINT] on the ground for example).

If when this happens to say - the reader of this article in the future (a.k.a: you), my suggestion would be to NOT broadcast it. Key reasons for this would be to eventually track down whoever is making the call(s). Broadcasting it tells the perp to cover their tracks, if they haven’t already. You can also learn a lot for if/when said SWAT team does arrive (see SALUTE reports).

In my case (years ago), by not making it public (yes, I was a well-known public figure in some circles), “Hell hath no fury” had no idea what effect the calls were having, and I was documenting the actions, and fed the police the names of the possible suspect(s). I also went back to every service that arrived at my home, giving them a name and number to backtrack in the event it ever happened again…

… this individual had an ‘official’ visit less than 72 hours later.

If such an incident happens to you, my suggestion would be to first: verify the people outside are actually cops, then after it is peacefully resolved, ask the police for any information that could lead to the identity of the caller. Having a friend or two on that side of the blue line can be a plus. It’s one thing if/when the perp has a visit from a badge (but with certain DA’s these days – who knows?). But it’s a whole other matter with the perp learning that YOU know who they are. In most cases, that fear is an order of magnitude higher than being on the police radar.

Remember: MTG blows up vehicles with a .50 cal BMG. You really want to cross hairs with this Mama Bear when her family is under threat?

Lastly, if you happen to be among those who are fighting the good fight for Real Americans and the Constitution, being considered the ‘threat to democracy’ that you are, here’s a suggestion:

Contact your local authorities. Have a sit down explaining what you do, and the fact that you have enemies out there (don’t worry, Mr. Biden confirmed it on 9/1/2022). Give them your contact information, what you do for a living and when. Under a good relationship, before everyone gears-up over a false call, it would be easier to simply have the 911 team have you flagged for a possible false-flag call, and to either call you first, allowing a direct connection to your own security apparatus (with your permission of course). Not to mention, cops: check where the call is coming from (law enforcement 101) BEFORE jumping to a conclusion and getting hazardous-duty pay for nothing.

Overall, the advice here is to not allow this activity to become an effective weapon against us. Key to preventing this is knowing our surroundings and having a good communication network on both sides of the blue (and even the red) lines. Remember: Prior planning prevents …. poor performance.

Carry on,

Just my $0.02.

[silent majority rising]

The perps need to suffer consequences, so in the case above, I hope that he sued the crap out of his ex and saddled him/her with a judgment that would take 20% of their monthly salary for several years. In the case of the new swatters, make it an automatic event to sue the hell out of them whenever they are discovered.

[I want the USA back]

Every instance of “swatting” should be investigated. The perps need to spend the rest of their lives in prison.

[Roccus]

Then you in a heap of trouble, boy.

[circlecity]

“ the perp is probably somewhere in the vicinity of the target, or in contact with someone who is.‘

Not necessarily. I remember reading about a kid in Canada who would get mad at people he was playing video games with online from America and have them swatted. Apparently he was able to get their address through the game or chat platform they were using. He was very prolific.

[eyeamok]

The way to stop it is by Mandating that every Public Servant be Swatted annually. Maybe then the no knock armed raids will end.

[T.B. Yoits]

Swatting is multiple counts of attempted murder and law enforcement needs to treat it as such.

The only differences between swatting and sending over hired killers is that the caller isn't paying them and it's a gamble not a guarantee.

[Erik Latranyi]

The goal of Swatting is to kill conservatives by using the police.

The left hopes a middle of the night police call to the house of a conservative would end up with a gunfight, a mistake or anything that results in deaths.

IF the police get a call that a suspected murder or other violent crime is in progress, they have the right to search your premises.

[flamberge]

No phone needed and they used a VPN to prevent tracing.

Website access through a VPN is still traceable.

It is time-consuming and gets expensive. You might start out with a list of 10000 subscribers to the VPN and a couple of trainees doing the initial screening. With a few basic search tools and a dweeb who is good at python scripting, you can cut down that list to 150 people fairly quickly.

It goes even faster if the Website host provider and the VPN service are cooperating with your department. Most of them are going to do so. Some of them will require nothing more than a phone call to the right contact.

Or you can pay a commercial service to generate a "specialized marketing prospect list using custom parameters". No warrants required at all. Just a current business account. You do need a skilled analyst who knows how to define the selection parameters. It is an art of wizardry. In an age of mass-market data collection, it can be shockingly effective.

Why bother to create a police surveillance state when private corporations will do all the work for you?

Ultimately you end up with a list of a dozen suspects for whom you will need to arrange field interviews. You will probably need warrants for that. You send a pair of agents to each candidate. The one who flinches or tries to run is assumed to be your perpetrator. Put them under intense scrutiny. You will find something to justify charges and maybe even an arrest.

Chalk up another success. Make sure there is a press release. Commendations for all and a promotion for the supervisor.

But this much effort is normally expended only in cases where the victim is an approved somebody of importance to the authorities. Ordinary citizens, or opponents of the current régime are unlikely to receive this level of attention.

[TBP]

And with cell phones, you don’t have to have the same area code to be local.

[Basket_of_Deplorables]

I’m normally not a fannof making everything a federal crime, so I say this with reluctance:

Congress should pass a law on “High Profile Hoaxes,”
which are knowingly reporting an event that didn’t happen; to intimidate or endanger someone with significant influence or in positions of authority, with the intent to punish or coerce behavioral changes beneficial to the reporting party, directly or via political cause.

Along those lines.

Swatting in particular is a mandatory charge of Attemped Murder. For other hoaxes, charge them with whatever law under which charges would have been brought if the hoax was real.

Establish a special branch of The US Marshals to investigate just those charges.

Etc...

Yeah, what do I know.

[arthurus]

I remember a case of someone being SWATted twice in a year.

[arthurus]

SWATting is, in fact, premeditated attempted murder.

[arthurus]

But cell phone calls are traceable easily. Throwaway phones are harder, though, to pin to an individual..

[Big Red Badger]

Good Dope,
Soothing the Po Po,
Lay Low and inform/enlist All Players to identify the
RAT !
.

[Big Red Badger]

Dang,,
.
Wise as Serpants
And
Gentle as Doves.
.

[StAnDeliver]

"Not necessarily. I remember reading about a kid in Canada who would get mad at people he was playing video games with online from America and have them swatted. Apparently he was able to get their address through the game or chat platform they were using. He was very prolific."

Curtis "Probably 0nion"? That dude should be in an American supermax gouging out his eyes with a plastic spoon.

[TBP]

They need to feel the pain for it.

[flamberge]

I remember a case of someone being SWATted twice in a year.

There are certain video game and entertainment executives in southern California who get swatted every week.

The local police departments keep special notes (public safety notices) about these addresses and have protocols in place to verify the situation before sending in SWAT teams.

But they don't catch the swatters. Most of them are out of state or even out of the country. This is one of the few arenas where the Federales have better capabilities than the locals. Too bad they have other priorities.

[joma89]

Thanks for the rundown. Worth the time.