Several of US President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet choices and appointees have been targeted by bomb threats and “swatting attacks”, his transition team said.
“Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s cabinet nominees and administration appointees were targeted in violent, un-American threats to their lives and those who live with them,” Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
She said the attacks “ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting'”, adding: “In response, law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted. President Trump and the entire transition team are grateful for their swift action.”
Swatting entails generating an emergency law enforcement response against a target victim under false pretences.
The FBI said in a statement that it is “aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees, and we are working with our law enforcement partners”.
It added: “We take all potential threats seriously, and as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement.”
Among those targeted was Elise Stefanik, Mr Trump’s choice to serve as the next ambassador to the United Nations.
Her office said that she, her husband, and their three-year-old son were driving home from Washington for Thanksgiving when they were informed of a bomb threat to their residence in Saratoga County.
“New York state, county law enforcement, and US Capitol Police responded immediately with the highest levels of professionalism,” her office said in a statement. “We are incredibly appreciative of the extraordinary dedication of law enforcement officers who keep our communities safe 24/7.”
In Florida, meanwhile, the Okaloosa County sheriff’s office said in an advisory posted on Facebook that it “received notification of a bomb threat referencing former congressman Matt Gaetz’s supposed mailbox at a home in the Niceville area around 9am this morning”.
While a family member resides at the address, they said “former congressman Gaetz is not a resident”, adding: “The mailbox however was cleared and no devices were located. The immediate area was also searched with negative results.”
Mr Gaetz was Mr Trump’s initial pick to serve as attorney general, but he withdrew from consideration amid allegations that he paid women for sex and slept with underage women.
Mr Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and said last year that a Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls had ended with no federal charges against him.
Susie Wiles, Mr Trump’s incoming chief of staff, and Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general whom Mr Trump has chosen as Mr Gaetz’s replacement, were also targeted, according to a law enforcement official.
White House spokesperson Saloni Sharma said President Joe Biden had been briefed and the White House is in touch with federal law enforcement and Mr Trump’s transition team.
Mr Biden “continues to monitor the situation closely,” Ms Sharma said, adding the president and his administration “condemn threats of political violence”.
The threats follow a political campaign marked by unusual violence.
In July, a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing the then-candidate in the ear with a bullet and killing one of his supporters.
The US Secret Service later thwarted a subsequent assassination attempt at Mr Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, when an agent spotted the barrel of a gun poking through a fence while Mr Trump was playing golf.
