Candidates for a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan said they were both the targets of swatting this week.
“Today, family members of [former Rep.] Mike Rogers [(R-Mich.)] were the target of a swatting attempt at their home in Livingston County,” Chris Gustafson, a communications director for Rogers’ campaign, said in a press release.
“Michigan State Police responded to the false threat and thankfully no one at the home was harmed,” Gustafson said. “Mike and his family are beyond grateful for the professionalism and swift response of law enforcement.”
Multiple news outlets also reported that a spokesperson for Rep. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), Rogers’ Democratic rival, said she had faced swatting herself in the same week at her own home.
“It was a hoax that someone called in, in order to send a big number of law enforcement from Oakland County to my home,” Slotkin said in a Friday video from local television station WOOD-TV. “And, I wasn’t there at the time, but 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.”
Rogers and Slotkin recently won their respective parties’ primaries for current Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s (D-Mich.) seat. The race to replace Stabenow is one of a few highly-watched races across the nation due to its occurrence in a key battleground state.
“The news that Mike Rogers and his family were also ‘swatted’ is deeply troubling and I am glad to hear both he and his family were not harmed,” Slotkin said in a post on the social platform X Friday. “This type of behavior is not acceptable in public life. I thank Michigan State Police for their swift and professional response and I hope those responsible are investigated and held accountable by law enforcement.”
The Hill has reached out to Slotkin’s office.
