She told Business Insider that the increasing spate of swatting attempts is an intensification of anti-government extremism plaguing the country.
An FBI report reviewed by CBS indicated there may be more than 500 recorded swatting calls nationwide since May of 2023.
"These are tactics that terrorists have used in the past to disseminate chaos and fear with fake bomb threats — they're not new tactics," Ben-Ghiat told BI.
"The thing about these threats is, whatever form they're taking, they normalize the idea of threatening public officials," Ben-Ghiat told BI.
Advertisement"That's what Trump does 24/7, hammering the idea 'We're coming for you, don't resist, we're coming for you,'" referring to his administration and supporters, Ben-Ghiat told BI.
Persons:
—, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Sen, Rick Scott of, Michelle Wu, Arthur Engoron —, Donald Trump —, Ruth Ben, Ghiat, Strongmen, Mussolini, they're, Ben, Trump, they'll, isn't, Andrew Thomas Finch, Casey Viner, Shane Gaskill, Gaskill, Viner, Tyler Barriss, Brian, he'd, Finch, Barriss, Donald Trump's, he's, Utah Sen, Mitt Romney, who've, autocrats, swatting, aren't, Liz Cheney, they've, that's
Organizations:
Service, Business, Georgia, Boston, New York University, FBI, CBS, Wichita, Gaskill, Republicans, Fifth, MSNBC, Trump, Ben, Wyoming, Republican Party, GOP
Locations:
Rick Scott of Florida, York, Utah, Ben