Michigan SOS Jocelyn Benson home targeted in swatting attack: 'I will not be intimidated'

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Monday her home was the target of a pair of swatting attacks within the span of 48 hours, meant to threaten her as the state's top elections official.

Swatting entails a hoax call to law enforcement to prompt an armed response. The incidents can put victims in harm's way when law enforcement arrive at their home with the understanding that officers are responding to a horrific crime, rather than a prank.

Benson thanked local and federal law enforcement for responding to the incidents. "Swatting is a form of political violence that is horrific, dangerous and intended to terrify its victims," Benson wrote in a social media post on X, shared Monday night. "But hear me clearly: I will not be intimidated. These threats never have and never will deter me from my job: ensuring Michigan citizens can have confidence in their secure, fair, accurate elections."

The Secretary of State's Office said the Detroit Police Department responded to the incidents that occurred Saturday night and Monday morning at Benson’s home in Detroit.  "We're sharing information with them and our various law enforcement partners at the state and federal level," wrote Angela Benander, the communications director for Benson's office. She did not respond to a request for comment on how Benson knows the perpetrator was targeting the elections official because of her job.

The Detroit Police Department said its Cyber Crimes Unit is handling the investigation in the swatting attacks. "At this time, this is all the information that we are releasing," the police media relations wrote in an email. 

During a prior tumultuous election year, Benson's home drew protesters opposing former President Donald Trump's loss in Michigan in 2020 in a late-night demonstration she has described as another effort to intimidate her. "The demands made outside my home were unambiguous, loud and threatening. They targeted me in my role as Michigan’s Chief Election Officer," Benson said in a December 2020 statement responding to the incident.

In addition to Benson, other Michigan politicians and candidates have reported swatting attacks against them.

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On Aug. 8, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, was targeted by a swatting attack, according to her spokesperson Lynsey Mukomel. Michigan State Police responded "to a false threat that was emailed to a local elected official," Mukomel wrote in an email. "The congresswoman was not home at the time, and Michigan State Police checked the property and confirmed no one was in danger." U.S. Capitol Police will follow-up with an investigation, Mukomel added.

The next day, Slotkin's GOP opponent in the race for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, reported a swatting attack against his family members at their Livingston County home. "Michigan State Police responded to the false threat and thankfully no one at the home was harmed," said Rogers for Senate Communications Director Chris Gustafson in a statement Friday. "This is the second time that Mike has been the target of a swatting, first in 2013 as a member of Congress, and reports that Rep. Slotkin was also the target yesterday are a clear example of the deeply concerning trend of political violence that has quickly become the norm."

The Michigan State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on either Slotkin's or Rogers' incidents.

Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.

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