Minnesota Dems vote against making swatting a felony crime

Minnesota Democrats have voted against an amendment to a public safety policy bill that would have expanded protections against swatting to all residents in the state.

The amendment, proposed during consideration of a public safety bill, sought to toughen penalties for interfering with emergency calls and for making false reports intended to trigger a law enforcement response. Under the proposal, it would have created a gross misdemeanor offense for anyone who “intentionally interrupts, disrupts, impedes, or interferes with an emergency call or who intentionally prevents or hinders another from placing an emergency call.” It also included a felony provision for reporting a fictitious emergency that results in serious injury.

State Senator Michael Holmstrom defended the amendment, explaining it was prompted by a case involving one of his constituents.

“Somebody tried to kill one of my constituents using the force of the police,” Holmstrom said during debate. He also pointed to a broader trend, claiming that numerous podcasters and online influencers had been targeted in similar incidents over the past year.

“This is outrageous. This is attempted murder using the government as a weapon. This should be a felony to do to anybody in the state,” he said.

Despite those arguments, the amendment did not receive support from any Democratic lawmakers and was ultimately rejected. As a result, the proposed provisions were not included in the final version of the public safety legislation.

The issue of someone being swatted is recurring, with numerous examples of livestreamers being targeted as a result of viewers making false reports to law enforcement.