Knox County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the home of United States Representative Tim Burchett over the weekend.
Officials with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office told WVLT News that they did not have a report on hand but do know Sheriff Tom Spangler sent patrol deputies to the house of Burchett (TN-02) after elected officials received an anonymous email saying a man had killed his wife’s lover after catching the two cheating, tied her up, and left her at Burchett’s home.
Sheriff officials said after a search of the property, nothing was out of order, and believed it to be an attempted swatting.
Burchett told WVLT News Monday that he and his family were not home at the time.
Burchett added that it was rare for them to be out around 5 p.m. on a Saturday, but they elected to go for an early dinner.
”It’s very dangerous, it’s a felony. If somebody ends up getting hurt, it’s going to be on them for the rest of their lives, and I’m not messing around. Take that for whatever you want to take it, but I hold my family very close to me,” said Burchett.
The Congressman said the E-911 director called him to confirm his address which tipped him off to the attempted swatting.
”They’re very serious. This is a time when being an elected official is harder than ever, yet we work for the people, and I think this is a cowardly act and one that is disgusting quite frankly,” said Knox County Commissioner Larsen Jay.
Jay was one of about 35 people to receive the email.
The FBI has developed a new database for swatting incidents after a recent increase in the act.
Swatting is a form of harassment to deceive an emergency service provider into sending a police and emergency service response team to another person’s address due to the false reporting of a serious law enforcement emergency. The individuals who engage in this activity use technology, such as caller ID spoofing, social engineering, TTY, and prank calls to make it appear that the emergency call is coming from the victim’s phone. Traditionally, law enforcement has seen swatters directing their actions toward individuals and residences. Increasingly, the FBI sees swatters targeting public places such as airports, schools, and businesses. Another recent trend is so-called celebrity swatting, where the targeted victims are well-known personalities, according to the FBI Las Vegas Field Office. Story courtesy of WVLT
