INDIANA—The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has joined the Indiana State Police (ISP) in a major investigation into a series of coordinated swatting incidents and threats targeting multiple Republican state senators and Governor Mike Braun. Authorities confirm the perpetrators are being actively tracked and warned that swatting is a dangerous felony.
While initial reports focused on five separate swatting incidents, officials now confirm that at least eight Republican state officeholders, including Governor Braun, have been victims of swatting, bomb threats, or other serious intimidation efforts in the past week.
On Friday, Governor Braun released a powerful statement on social media, assuring the public that law enforcement is working diligently to find those responsible.
“Enough is enough. These threats to lawmakers, including those received by me and my family in recent days, need to stop,” Governor Mike Braun posted on X. “Indiana State Police and their law-enforcement partners have been working around the clock all week to protect lawmakers and investigate threats. Rest assured — if you threaten or attempt to carry out acts of violence against Indiana’s elected officials, we WILL bring you to justice.”
The alarming wave of threats comes amid rising tensions over a controversial push to redraw the state’s congressional maps. Many of the Republican senators who were targeted had either opposed the redistricting plan or remained undecided on the issue.
The incidents include:
- Threats targeted Governor Mike Braun and his family, though his office did not immediately provide specific details of the incidents.
- State Senator Greg Goode (R-Terre Haute) was targeted with a swatting call reporting a domestic violence emergency at his home shortly after President Donald Trump publicly criticized him and another senator for opposing the redistricting plan.
- State Senator Spencer Deery (R-West Lafayette) was targeted with a similar false report of domestic abuse, which police were able to determine quickly was a hoax.
- State Senator Andy Zay (R-Huntington) reported that his vehicle rental business was targeted with a bomb threat.
- State Senator Kyle Walker (R-Lawrence) also reported receiving threats and a bomb threat sent to his home.
- State Senator Linda Rogers (R-Granger) confirmed she was one of the victims, though she did not elaborate on the details of the incidents of intimidation.
“I can confirm I have been the victim of several intimidation incidents, but the St. Joseph County Police Department and the Indiana State Police are working diligently to get to the bottom of it,” Senator Rogers said in a statement. “I would like to commend and thank the St. Joseph County Police Department and the Indiana State Police for their timely response and assistance during this investigation.”
Swatting is the criminal act of making a false report to emergency services with the express purpose of luring a large-scale law enforcement response—often a SWAT team—to an unsuspecting victim’s location. The practice is considered extremely dangerous, as it puts victims, their families, and responding officers at serious risk of harm.
The FBI is leveraging its technical capabilities to identify those responsible, regardless of their location.
The FBI is emphasizing the intent to track down and prosecute the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law.
The harassment has drawn bipartisan condemnation from state leadership, with House Speaker Todd Huston and House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta issuing a joint statement calling the threats “abhorrent and completely unacceptable.”
