NEW YORK— A number of President-elect Donald Trump’s most notable Cabinet nominees and appointees have been targeted by bomb threats and “swatting attacks,” according to Trump’s transition team. The FBI stated that it was investigating. “Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and Administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” said Trump transition spokesman Karoline Leavitt.

She stated that the attacks varied from bomb threats to swatting, in which attackers launch an emergency law enforcement reaction against a specific victim under false pretence. The strategy has gained popularity in recent years. “In response, law police and other authorities moved rapidly to secure the safety of individuals targeted. President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their prompt action,” Leavitt stated. Among those targeted were New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump’s nomination to be the next ambassador to the United Nations, Matt Gaetz, Trump’s initial pick for attorney general, and former New York congressman Lee Zeldin, who has been appointed to run the Environmental Protection Agency. Susie Wiles, Trump’s new chief of staff,

Susie Wiles, Trump’s incoming chief of staff, and Pam Bondi, the former Florida Attorney General Trump has appointed as Gaetz’s replacement, were also targeted, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the continuing investigation. Wiles and Bondi did not immediately return requests for comment.

The FBI stated that it was “aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees” and was “working with our law enforcement partners.” We take all possible threats seriously and, as usual, urge members of the public to promptly report anything suspect to law police.” Stefanik’s office stated that on Wednesday morning, she, her husband, and their 3-year-old son were coming home from Washington for Thanksgiving when they were told of a bomb threat at their Saratoga County home. “New York State, County law enforcement, and U.S. Capitol Police responded immediately with the highest levels of professionalism,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We are incredibly grateful for the extraordinary dedication of law enforcement.”

Stefanik’s office stated that on Wednesday morning, she, her husband, and their 3-year-old son were coming home from Washington for Thanksgiving when they were told of a bomb threat at their Saratoga County home. “New York State, County law enforcement, and U.S. Capitol Police responded immediately with the highest levels of professionalism,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We are incredibly appreciative of the extraordinary dedication of law enforcement officers who keep our communities safe 24/7.” According to the New York State Police, a crew was deployed to sweep Stefanik’s residence on Wednesday morning in response to the bomb threat, but no explosive devices were found. A representative for the agency directed more questions to the FBI.

According to the New York State Police, a crew was deployed to sweep Stefanik’s residence on Wednesday morning in response to the bomb threat, but no explosive devices were found. A representative for the agency directed more questions to the FBI. Zeldin said in a social media post that he and his family had been threatened. “A pipe bomb threat targeting me and my family at our home today was sent in with a pro-Palestinian themed message,” he stated on Twitter. “My family and I were not home at the time and are fine. We are cooperating with law enforcement to learn more as the situation progresses.”

Police in Suffolk County, Long Island, said emergency authorities responded to a bomb threat Wednesday morning at an address identified in public records as Zeldin’s residence and were inspecting the premises. In Florida, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office stated in a Facebook post that it “received notification of a bomb threat referencing former Congressman Matt Gaetz’s supposed mailbox at a home in the Niceville area around 9 a.m. this morning.” While a family member lives at the address, they stated that “former Congressman Gaetz is NOT a resident.” The mailbox, however, had been cleared, and no devices were found. The immediate neighbourhood was also searched, with negative results.

Gaetz was Trump’s first choice for attorney general, but he withdrew after charges that he paid women for sex and slept with underage people. Gaetz has strenuously denied any wrongdoing and stated last year that a Justice Department probe into sex trafficking claims involving teenage females resulted in no federal charges against him. The threats come after a presidential campaign defined by unsettling and unprecedented violence. In July, a gunman opened fire on a Trump event in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing the candidate in the ear and killing one of his supporters. The US Secret Service later foiled a separate assassination attempt at Trump’s West Palm Beach, Florida, golf resort, when an agent spotted the barrel of a gun.

In recent years, public personalities from all political parties have faced hoax bomb threats and bogus allegations of gunshots at their residences. Earlier this year, the judges in charge of Trump’s civil fraud case in New York and the criminal election meddling case in Washington, D.C. were both targeted. Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who recently dropped the two criminal charges he filed against Trump, was also the victim of a bogus emergency call on Christmas Day last year. Earlier this year, schools, government facilities, and city officials’ residences in Springfield, Ohio, got a slew of hoax bomb threats after Trump falsely accused members of the Haitian population of kidnapping and eating kittens and dogs. And by 2022,

The U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement Wednesday that, “Whenever a Member of Congress is the victim of a’swatting’ event, we work closely with our local and federal law enforcement colleagues. We are unable to share additional information at this time due to ongoing investigations and the possibility of copycats. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson described the threats as “dangerous and unhinged.” “This year, there were two assassination attempts on President Trump. “Now some of his Cabinet nominees and their families are receiving bomb threats,” he wrote on X. “It is not who we are in America.”