Conservative bloggers are on heightened alert following a string of so-called “SWAT-ing” incidents and are taking precautionary measures to ensure they don’t fall victim to the potentially dangerous prank as the political blogosphere prepares for a heated election season.
“SWAT-ing” refers to a hoax in which an anonymous prankster falsely reports a violent crime at an unsuspecting person’s home, prompting a police team to respond to the location believing a dangerous situation is at hand.
The illegal practice has in recent months targeted well-known conservative writers and commentators, including Erick Erickson, founder of the blog RedState.com — who claims he was eating dinner with his family in May when a SWAT team surrounded his home following such a false 911 call.
The growing trend, which some say could one day prove deadly, had conservatives on edge at the annual RightOnline conference of right-wing bloggers and activists in Las Vegas this weekend.
“What they’re clearly trying to do is dampen down free speech, but it goes beyond that — it’s putting people’s physical safety in jeopardy,” said Ali Akbar, who heads a group called the National Bloggers Club made up of conservative online writers.
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This has nothing to do with conservatives as such; it’s not about right and left but about right and wrong. These attacks are the doing of convicted terrorist Brett Kimberlin and his associates Neal Rauhauser and Ron Brynaert, whose voice is clearly heard in the 911 calls that brought the police swooping down on Patrick Frey and Mike Stack. While these three terrorists are involved with Democrat causes and politics, not all of their victims are conservatives. Seth Allen, one of their main victims, and Ken White, who has been prominent in the fight to expose their crimes, are both decidedly on the left of politics.