DC Area Police Investigate Swatting Incident Targeting a Supreme Court Justice

The Fairfax County Police Department in northern Virginia is investigating a swatting call at the residence of Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett Wednesday night.

“Yesterday evening at approximately 9:02 p.m., officers responded to a swatting call at the residence of U.S. Supreme Court Justice in Fairfax County,” the department’s public information officer told the Daily Signal in a Thursday phone call.

“The call was received through the department’s non-emergency line,” the officer explained. “Officers immediately coordinated with Supreme Court police personnel assigned to the residence and quickly determined that the report was fictitious. No additional police resources were utilized.”

“Swatting” refers to the practice of calling police with a false report concerning a threat or violence, aiming to convince law enforcement to send a SWAT team to the targeted location. Since SWAT teams often enter houses with little notice and can cause confusion, these calls may result in unnecessary police violence.

When asked if the police department is investigating the call, the officer said, “That’s definitely part of it, every one of those calls is investigated.”

In some circumstances, police will bring charges against those who make such calls, the officer explained.

Some calls may not originate in the police department’s jurisdiction, however, complicating efforts to hold the swatter accountable.

Threats to the Supreme Court

The swatting call comes about a month after a gunman rushed past security at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, reportedly seeking to kill President Donald Trump. Trump administration officials have faced multiple serious threats recently.

After the Supreme Court reversed the abortion precedent Roe v. Wade (1973) in 2022, pro-choice agitators protested outside justices’ homes, and one of them attempted to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

As the conservative-leaning originalist movement has dominated the Supreme Court’s majority and jurisprudence, critics on the Left have sought to delegitimize the court, with then-President Joe Biden even launching a commission to consider “reform.”

Former Vice President Kamala Harris recently suggested packing the court, should Democrats retake the White House and the Senate.

President Trump appointed both Kavanaugh and Barrett to the bench, and pro-choice activists campaigned against their confirmations.