Maine Secretary of State Bellows says home targeted in swatting incident

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said on her Facebook page Saturday that her house was swatted.

In her Facebook post, Ms. Bellows says her home address was posted on the internet and that an unknown individual “swatted” her house. No one, including Ms. Bellows, was at her residence.  

Ms. Bellows noted that she and her office have received “escalating” threats because she decided to remove former President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot last week.

“The non-stop threatening communications the people who work for me endured all day yesterday is unacceptable. It’s designed to scare not only me but also others into silence, to send a message,” she wrote. “I am so grateful to have such an amazing team of employees at the Department of Secretary of State.”

Swatting occurs when an unknown person makes a phony phone call or false violent crime report about an unsuspecting resident’s home, a school or other public place to trigger a police or SWAT team response.

Ms. Bellows came onto the national radar after she unilaterally removed former President Donald Trump from Maine’s presidential primary ballot Thursday under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause, becoming the second state to bar Mr. Trump from the 2024 ballot.

The decision by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, coming as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to decide on his eligibility, is the first time a state election official has barred Mr. Trump from running.

Her decision follows a 4-3 ruling earlier this month by the Colorado Supreme Court removing Mr. Trump from the GOP primary, to be held on March 5, an order that also cited Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

Several state and congressional officials were swatted recently, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, Rep. Brandon Williams, New York Republican, Sen. Rick Scott, Florida Republican and Democrat Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley also says he was a victim of swatting Friday night at his Fairfax home, one day after he appeared on Fox News Digital and spoke about how the Commonwealth of Virginia is responding to the crime of swatting.