Several members of President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed cabinet were hit with swatting calls, bomb threats and other harassing calls late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, according to the FBI.
The agency issued a statement on Wednesday, saying the bureau was “aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees, and we are working with our law enforcement partners.”
Incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also confirmed the incidents to Fox News, calling them “violent, un-American threats.”
“Law enforcement acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted,” she said Wednesday.
Leavitt did not say exactly which members of Trump’s incoming administration were hit with the harassing calls, but Fox News reported nearly a dozen cabinet nominees were affected. None of the threats appeared to be legitimate.
One of Trump’s picks, Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration for the attorney general’s position. Gaetz, 42, was hit with his own bomb threat on Wednesday morning, according to PunchBowl News. Cops searched his Florida home after reports of a pipe bomb, but Gaetz wasn’t home at the time.
Many of Trump’s picks for his second administration — including Gaetz — have been heavily criticized, and several have a history of sexual assault and harassment allegations.
Pete Hegseth, the nominee for secretary of defense, was accused of sexual assault in a 2017 California incident. Police did not pursue charges against Hegseth, though he paid the woman in an out-of-court settlement.
Linda McMahon, nominated for secretary of education, was named in a lawsuit alongside her husband, Vince, that said they enabled “rampant sexual abuse” of young ring boys at their pro wrestling company, WWE. She has denied the allegations.
