The White House experienced a disturbing “swatting” incident in the early hours of Monday morning, where an unknown individual made a false 911 call reporting a fire at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as tensions rise before Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden likely rematch in November. CNN’s Betsy Klein shared details on social media, revealing that the caller falsely claimed that the White House was on fire, and someone was trapped inside.
The incident triggered a significant emergency response, with multiple units from DC Fire and EMS dispatched to the scene. Dispatch radio audio indicated that the situation was described as a fire at the White House, and emergency responders were deployed. However, it was later determined to be a false alarm, and the situation was declared “all clear” at 7:15 am.
President Joe Biden, who was at Camp David during the incident, was not at the White House at the time. DC Fire & EMS dispatched 13 units in response to the false report of a fire, and it was noted that the callback number provided by the caller was fake.
Swatting is described as a dangerous criminal hoax where a false report is intentionally made to the police, designed to lure them to a particular location. This incident adds to a recent series of swatting events targeting prominent political and judicial figures, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Judge Tanya Chutkan, Rep. Brandon Williams, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and Sen. Rick Scott. The perpetrators behind these incidents often use false information to prompt emergency responses, creating potential risks and disruptions.
