“We have joined FBI Director Kash Patel in the fight against swatting calls targeting new conservative members,” said Christie Noem, Security Secretary of Land Affairs (DHS).[s] Media said: “On Wednesday, her department will announce it will 'hunt these co-sick people.'
Patel recently confirmed an increase in swatting cases when someone attempts to send armed police to another person's home, pretending to be a media person and their family.
The law puts the lives of victims and responding officers at risk, she said.
“Under President Trump's leadership, we will not sit vaguely as a conservative new thing[s] The media and their families are targeted for false swatting,” Noem wrote in a post on X on Wednesday.
Kash Patel says the FBI will investigate the rise in swatting incidents after several conservatives have been targeted.
Christie Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security in Washington, DC (Getty)
She added that DHS can track phone numbers and track location information.
“We'll use it to corner these co-sick people,” Noem writes. “This is an attack on our law enforcement agencies and our innocent families, and we prosecute it that way.”
DHS Deputy Chief Tricia McLaughlin said Fox News Digital DHS “will not be included in the details of the investigation,” but Swatter's explanation of the gnome said “co-sick.”
Noem posted after several members of the conservative media, including radio hosts, podcasters, influencers and critics, became victims of allegedly mitigating the incident at home.
Conservative radio talk show host Joe “Pags” Pagliarulo told Fox News host Will Cain that he woke up to a half-dozen armed deputies at 2am during a swatting call at his home in Texas last week.
Pagliarulo said he received an alert from one of his security cameras and saw the aide at the front door armed with an AR-15.
“[I] It is called 911. Because we have to find it now. If that's a good person, I have to be very careful. If that's the bad guy, I have to go out with my gun and try to protect my family,” Pagliarulo said.
The dispatcher confirmed that the sheriff's office had received a 911 call regarding the situation of hostages where multiple dogs were shot.
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Swatter claimed that someone was “bleed upstairs” and “hurry in and get in,” further straining the situation where both agents responded.
“That's what it is. One of them wasn't happening,” Pagliarulo said. “My family was sleeping peacefully. I worked in my office. There was nothing wrong with me in my house. But he happened to either break the door to the police to kill me, or I was trying to scare us enough to not do what I do on the radio every day.”
The deputy eased the situation, but Pagriallo said, “Your heart will bump from your heart.”
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FBI Director Kash Patel will speak in Washington, DC (Anna Money Maker/Getty Images)
Pagliarulo said he immediately texted Patel.
“We want to deal with the surprising rise in the 'swatting' incident, targeting media numbers,” Patel wrote in a social media post Friday. “The FBI recognizes this dangerous trend, and my team and I are already taking action to investigate and hold responsible responsibilities.”
He added that the issue is not about politics.
“Law enforcement against Americans is not only morally condemned, but also lives on dangerous people, including our executives,” Patel wrote. “That's not tolerated. We are fully committed to working with local law enforcement to crack down on these crimes.”
Other conservative media figures, including podcaster Nick and host Sean Farasch, reported a similar swatting incident to last week's Pagriallo, but Inforers host Owen Schroyer uploaded nearly 13 minutes of video on Wednesday to share it with “just switted.”
A bipartisan bicameral bill was introduced in January to tighten penalties for those found to be the crime of making swatting calls, and imposed a maximum of 20 years for false calls that resulted in serious injury or death.
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Rep. Brandon Gill of R-Texas shared a bill targeting those convicted of swatting calls that resulted in injuries and deaths. (Getty Images)
Bill Cossponsor Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, described “political terrorism” and swatting in a statement Friday.
“In the past few days, multiple conservative influencers and experts have swallowed the house,” Gill wrote. “This is a very dangerous form of political terrorism. It's possible to kill someone and it has to be over now.”
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Brie Stimson of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
