Democratic lawmakers report bomb threats on Thanksgiving

Five Democratic US lawmakers from Connecticut on Thursday said they were targeted with bomb threats at their homes, but no explosive devices had been found, according to social media and local media.US Representatives Jim Himes, Jahana Hayes, John Larson and Joe Courtney, all from Connecticut, reported the threats in statements on Thanksgiving Day. "There is no place for political violence in this country, and I hope that we may all continue through the holiday season with peace and civility," said Himes.Hayes said that on Thanksgiving morning, police told him they received an email "stating a pipe bomb had been placed in the mailbox at my home," but that no bombs or explosives had been found and that the investigation was ongoing.Local media in Connecticut reported that US Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, had also been targeted. The US Capitol Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Several of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet and administration picks were also targeted this week with bomb threats and "swatting." Trump transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Wednesday that several of Trump's planned nominees had been targeted with swatting or bomb threats."Swatting" is the action of falsely calling emergency services in an effort to send armed police officers to a specific address or target in a threatening way. Bomb threats can represent a form of swatting — misleading authorities to believe that a serious threat or crime is underway to prompt an urgent response from police. And in rare cases, they've led to fatal outcomes.
Though swatting may lead to felony charges and can be punishable by years behind bars, suspects are often tricky to track. Offenders routinely employ caller ID spoofing, social engineering tactics, voice masking technology, and even tactics teletypewriter (TTY) technology (a phone system designed for people who have hearing or speech impairments) to mask their identity or pose as a victim.