Police responded to a swatting attempt at the Virginia home of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett after a false report of gunfire prompted officers to rush to the residence.
The incident occurred on Wednesday night when authorities received a report of shots fired outside Barrett’s home, triggering a police response. Officers quickly determined the call was likely a swatting attempt after meeting with security personnel already stationed at the property and finding no evidence of gunfire.
“Yesterday evening at approximately 9:02 p.m., officers responded to a swatting call at the residence of U.S. Supreme Court Justice in Fairfax County,” the Fairfax County Police Department told the Washington Examiner. “The call was received through the department’s non-emergency line. Officers immediately coordinated with Supreme Court Police personnel assigned to the residence and quickly determined that the report was fictitious.”
Police audio posted online suggested dispatchers suspected the possibility of a false emergency call from the outset after they were unable to reach the original caller and warned responding officers that it could be a “swatting situation.”
Officers later reported that the incident was cleared after speaking with Barrett’s security detail outside the home.
Swatting refers to the practice of falsely reporting a violent emergency to trigger an armed police response to a victim’s address. The tactic has increasingly targeted elected officials, judges, and public figures.
Barrett, appointed to the Supreme Court by President Donald Trump, has faced heightened security concerns since the court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Following the leak of the draft opinion and subsequent ruling, abortion-rights protesters gathered outside the homes of several conservative justices, including Barrett, at residences in Northern Virginia.
Her family has also been targeted more recently, as in March 2024, police in Charleston, South Carolina, investigated a bomb threat against Barrett’s sister after an email falsely claimed an explosive device had been placed in the family’s mailbox. Authorities later determined the threat to be unfounded.
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Barrett has also said that her relatives have received suspicious pizzas, a tactic sometimes associated with harassment campaigns.
The apparent swatting attempt comes amid broader concerns about threats against members of the judiciary. Supreme Court justices have received increased security in recent years after multiple incidents targeting judges and their families, including an armed man arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Maryland home in 2022.