Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who disqualified former President Donald Trump from Maine’s 2024 primary ballot, claimed that her home was targeted for “swatting” one day after she made the controversial decision.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows speaks out after her home is "swatted" following her disqualification of Trump from the state's 2024 primary ballot. She expresses concern for her family's safety and condemns the threats of violence. https://t.co/mYnntvxrWl
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The Democrat announced the alleged incident on Saturday, saying the fallout from her ruling got her scared for the safety of her family.
Speaking to MSNBC, she said, “I decided to speak out today because threats of violence are unacceptable. Swatting the home of an elected official, who is doing their job, is unacceptable. And what my staff, my team have experienced — what they experienced all day yesterday, was a constant onslaught of threatening communications. And that has to stop.”
In a post on Facebook, she provided an insight into the incident, writing, “Many of you have asked if Brandon and I are safe. We are away for the holiday weekend. We were not home yesterday when threats escalated, and our home address was posted online.”
“It was a good thing because our home was swatted last night. That’s when someone calls in a fake emergency to evoke a strong law enforcement response to scare the target. Swatting incidents have resulted in casualties although thankfully this one did not,” she added.
According to Maine State Police, an unknown male made a call to police on Friday, claiming to have broken into an Augusta-area home that ended up being Bellows’.
Upon a law enforcement response, it was determined that the alarm was a swatting call.
While Bellows claimed that she is scared for her family, she said that the threats would not impact her ability to serve the people of Maine, as she expressed confidence in the people of Maine.
However, she called for people to speak up against the attacks against her since her Thursday decision that Trump is guilty of insurrection and thus, is not qualified to be in Maine’s ballot.
In her words, “But it is important for all good people to speak up. And furthermore, I also want to call out the dehumanizing images that have been placed online of me, the threatening communications to people in my family, and to my staff, people who work for me.”
“It is designed to instill fear, and to provoke silence, to keep people from speaking out, to send a message — and it is absolutely wrong and we cannot stand for it,” he added.
