The Trump cabinet chooses the target with bomb threats and slaps

Nov. 27 (UPI) — Several cabinet and government leaders of newly-elected President Donald Trump said they were the target of bomb threats and swattings on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

“Law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those targeted,” police said. Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in an email Wednesday prepared statement. “President Trump and the entire transition team are grateful for their swift action.”

Swatting refers to someone calling to falsely report an incident in order to provoke a potentially violent police response to a specific address or location, while targeting an individual or a group.

Leavitt said several of Trump’s Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were “targeted by violent, un-American actions” threats to their lives and those who live among them.”

Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Brooke Rollins, Howard Lutnick and Lee Zeldin said they were targeted and reported the threats to law enforcement.

Stefanik is Trump’s nominee for ambassador to the United Nations and received a bomb threat at her home in New York.

“This morning, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, her husband and their three-year-old son were driving from Washington to Saratoga County for Thanksgiving when they were notified of a bomb threat at their home,” Stefanik’s office said in a statement.

State, local and U.S. Capitol Police responded to the threat.

Lutnick is Trump’s pick for commerce secretary and was the target of a bomb threat at his home that included a call to 911, New York police said.

Zeldin and his family were the target of a pipe bomb threat at their home, carrying a pro-Palestinian message.

Zeldin in one message on X said he and his family were not home when the threat was made and reported it to police. He is a former congressman and Trump’s pick to administer the Environmental Protection Agency.

Rollins also said her home and family were targeted and that she is Trump’s nominee for secretary of agriculture.

The FBI is helping law enforcement agencies investigate “numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming government candidates and appointees,” the FBI said in a statement Wednesday. statement.

“We take all potential threats seriously and as always we encourage the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement authorities,” the FBI statement said.

President Joe Biden was informed of the bomb threats and swatting calls.