NEWSWEEK/Daily Beast Story on SWATting
In the wake of the Ashton Kutcher attempted SWATting, Maria Elena Fernandez at NEWSWEEK/Daily Beast reports about the politically motivated swattings and reports in detail about what happened to me last July. Quote:
“It’s a very dangerous situation, and I think it’s a miracle that nobody’s been killed yet,” Frey told The Daily Beast in an interview Thursday. “I had police officers pointing guns at me; my cellphone was in my hand. If they had thought I was armed and dangerous, I was one finger-pull of the trigger of losing my life that night. It was very scary. It seemed like it was designed to cause us the potential for being shot and killed.”
I’m quoted elsewhere in the article as well. You’ll have to read the whole thing to see what else I said.
Ms. Fernandez is very pleasant and I enjoyed talking to her, although she did get a few details wrong, which seems to be especially common in Big Media stories about SWATting. However, her story is instructive because she spoke at length to FBI agent Kevin Kolbye (to whom I directed her) who gave her a thorough overview of the history of the phenomenon. The piece is worth reading for that alone.
Yeah. I had an uncomfortable discussion at home about SWATting last night.
No particular reason. 😉
Ken (2e87a6) — 10/5/2012 @ 8:07 amKen, thank you for standing up to them despite understanding the risks.
Your support of Patterico’s freedom of speech despite disagreeing with him on some issues is patriotic and shows courage.
Dustin (73fead) — 10/5/2012 @ 10:50 amInteresting article. Glad to see it getting some attention. Hopefully an arrest will be made someday.
Monitor (5644ef) — 10/5/2012 @ 2:23 pmWhat a good piece in the Daily Beast. It clearly illustrated the impact of swatting on political writers/commentators. I think the celeb stuff is a different animal in as much as motivation is concerned. I’m also glad it’s getting publicity.
Because the political bloggers who have been targeted live in different states, Frey has met with the FBI about the incidents. No arrests have been made in connection with any of those events.
Is there an ongoing investigation or has it been dropped? Do you think the more publicity it receives, the greater pressure for authorities to push harder in an investigation (or re-open one)?
Dana (292dcf) — 10/5/2012 @ 5:42 pmThat was a good interview, Patterico, and I’m glad this continues to get some attention in the media. This should never happen, but it should especially never happen at a home with children.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 10/5/2012 @ 8:56 pm