Slotkin’s home, Rogers family members ‘swatted’

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD/ WLNS ) — Both the home of U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin and the home of family members of former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers were the targets of so-called swatting over the last two days, the U.S. Senate candidates’ offices say.

Michigan State Police were sent to Slotkin’s home in Oakland County Thursday evening after a “false threat was emailed to a local elected official,” Slotkin spokesperson Lynsey Mukomel said. Rogers’ office said there was a swatting attempt Friday at the Livingston County home of some of his family members.

Slotkin said she wasn’t home when it happened. Rogers’ office said his family members also weren’t home. There were no reports of injuries in either instance. Both candidates’ offices praised state police for their quick responses and professionalism.

Swatting is when someone calls authorities with a made up threat or emergency to prompt a large police response.

“It was certainly meant to disrupt me, disrupt law enforcement, take those law enforcement officers away from all the other things that they were working on. And it’s become kind of a thing that people do,” Slotkin told reporters at a campaign event in Grand Rapids Friday . “We’ve gotten the Capitol Police involved, so there’s an investigation going on. And I believe in accountability for wasting people’s time and energy. But, you know, it was an unfortunate incident. But this is sort of the nature of our politics now and I’m just not going to tolerate that.”

Before announcing the swatting attempt against his family, Rogers condemned the hoax at Slotkin’s home in a Friday social media post.

“The reports that Rep. Slotkin’s home was ‘swatted’ last night are horrific and I am glad to hear that she was not harmed,” he wrote. “As a former FBI agent I can tell you that diverting law enforcement toward fake crimes is dangerous and can lead to very bad outcomes.”

Rogers said his home was swatted in 2013 when he was still serving in the U.S. House.

“(R)eports that Rep. Slotkin was also the target yesterday are a clear example of the deeply concerning trend of political violence that has quickly become the norm,” Chris Gustafson, a spokesman for Rogers’ campaign, said in a statement. “This kind of violence cannot be tolerated, and it is our hope that those responsible will be quickly prosecuted and held accountable.”

Slotkin, a Democrat, and Rogers, a Republican, on Tuesday won their respective primaries in the race for the U.S. Senate and will face one another in November. The seat they are competing for is currently held by Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat, who is retiring.

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