Ashcroft Talks About Swatting Incident And The Need to Combat The Practice

A bill filed in the Missouri Senate this week would beef up penalties against swatting.

Swatting is when someone contacts law enforcement and falsely claims a crime is being committed at a specific address.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and his family were victims of a swatting call made to Jefferson City police on January 7th:

The bill sponsored by Senate President Pro-tem Caleb Rowden would add “private residence” to places that a person could be charged for making terroristic threats.

It would also make it a Class D felony if a swatting call results in death, injury, or property damage.