Star Tribune
Hoax emergency calls, known as ‘swatting,’ could become a felony in Minnesota
The act of falsely reporting an emergency with the intent of sending police to an elected official’s home could soon become a felony in Minnesota.
So-called “swatting” incidents are already a gross misdemeanor, but state legislators want to make the act a felony when it’s directed at elected officials, judges, prosecuting attorneys, correctional facility employees and police officers.
“[Swatting] puts those first responders at risk. It puts anyone that may be in that home at risk,” GOP House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, who’s sponsoring the bill, said during a recent committee hearing. “We also know that swatting would divert our first responders … away from what could be a true incident.”
GOP state Sen. Warren Limmer is sponsoring the bill in the Senate. It is headed for a final floor vote in both legislative chambers.
Public officials across the country have been targeted by swatting incidents, as have judges overseeing cases against former President Donald Trump. In January, someone tried to draw police and a hostage negotiator to the home of Minnesota Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer by claiming a murder had taken place there.
“Tonight my family and I were the target of a ‘swatting’ incident involving a 911 prank call that wrongly diverted a police presence to my home,” Emmer posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Sadly, this illegal and dangerous scheme is being used nationwide to target elected officials.”
Other high-profile legislators, such as Republicans U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, have reported similar incidents.
In December, at least 34 schools and Jewish facilities in Minnesota received fake shooting and bombing threats in what authorities said were coordinated swatting incidents.
The false calls have sometimes turned deadly. A Kansas man was shot and killed by police in 2017 after a prankster summoned authorities to his house.
Under the bill at the Legislature, those found guilty of swatting could face up to one year in prison and a $5,000 fine.
During the recent House committee hearing, state Rep. Dave Pinto, DFL-St. Paul, said the bill was important for democracy.
“I kind of view this as protecting those who protect us,” he said.
The University of Minnesota has postponed a scheduled Tuesday night lecture from infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci after pro-Palestinian protests that included some protesters barricading Morrill Hall the day before.
On Monday night, several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at the building, which houses the Minneapolis campus’ administrative offices, as Students for a Democratic Society used tied-up patio furniture to form giant barricades blocking the building’s large front windows and its entrances. The protesters demanded the U divest from companies with ties to Israel. At least 11 of the protesters were arrested.
The university decided to postpone Fauci’s lecture set for Tuesday night because of “unexpected and complicated incidents” over the past day, university spokesman Jake Rickersaid in an email.
“Given the importance of this lecture and the unexpected and complicated incidents that occurred on campus in the past 24 hours, University officials determined it best to reschedule to ensure a great experience for attendees and our University community,” Ricker said.
All tickets for the lecture will be voided and information about the rescheduled date will be posted later, the university said in an online post about the postponement. Pre-paid parking will be automatically refunded, the university added.
Additional pro-Palestinian protests took place Tuesday afternoon at the university in front of Coffman Memorial Union. The protests prompted university officials to temporarily close down at least a dozen buildings in a Tuesday alert. Those included: Coffman Union, Weisman Museum, Hasselmo Hall, Ford Hall, Vincent Murphy Hall, Tate Lab, Morrill Hall, Northrop Auditorium, Johnston Hall, Walter Library, Smith Hall, and Kolthoff Hall. All other East Bank campus buildings were switched to keycard access only, according to the alert.
An anti-Fauci rally had also been planned by conservative group Action 4 Liberty to coincide with the lecture at the university, but that was moved after the lecture was canceled.
Star Tribune
Aunt IDs 3-year-old who was fatally shot in Minneapolis home, speaks about what happened
A close relative on Tuesday identified the 3-year-old boy who was fatally shot this week in his family’s northeast Minneapolis apartment a day earlier.
Woods said police have told the family that Jajuan got ahold of the gun and it went off.
“Someone left a loaded gun [in the home,” said Woods, who has started an online fundraiser for her sister, Charlotte Williams. “He got ahold of it thinking it was a toy.”
Woods said her nephew, who went by Junior, “loved trucks and dinosaurs. He was just so silly and goofy. He was a momma’s boy.”
Jajuan suffered a gunshot wound to the top of the head, a source with knowledge of the incident told the Star Tribune. Paramedics rushed the toddler to HCMC, where he died a short time later.
Woods said she did not know who owned the gun.
Police spokesman Trevor Folke said Tuesday evening there have been no arrests and had no update to share in the “active and ongoing investigation.”
Bergman is championing efforts to boost literacy and invest in early childhood programming, and getting there, she said, requires financial sustainability, and that may mean closings and mergers. She attended last week’s finance committee meeting — as she’s done on a regular basis — and described the mention of “opportunity” as another rosy way of avoiding hard truths.
The district is spread too thin, she said. Some schools could take more students. Yet in others, class sizes are huge and caseloads so large that educators can’t build relationships with students and families, she said.
“I just fundamentally believe, and it’s been one of the objectives of my campaign, to be someone out in the community talking about this moment, listening to reactions, and listening for the places where families could get on board with the possibility of their beloved school having to close,” she said.
A way to get there, Bergman said, is by consolidating buildings, and in turn, expanding programming — perhaps not far from the school left behind.
Callahan argues that the mere mention of closings is causing families to leave the district: “This is not something that should be talked about so flippantly,” she said.
She said she would entertain the idea only if there also are plans to stabilize and recruit students, plus answers to three questions: How much money is being saved by closing a building? How many students will be retained if the school closes? And how many new students have to enroll to keep it open?
