In the near future, I intend to introduce two bills to address the alarming rise of swatting in this Commonwealth.
“Swatting” is a malicious act in which an individual makes a fraudulent or hoax 911 call designed to trick law enforcement or emergency responders into sending a heavily armed response, such as a SWAT team, to a specific location. The offenders commonly exploit technology to disguise their identity or even make it appear that the emergency call is coming from the victim’s own phone. In recent years, these incidents have escalated dramatically across the country, posing a growing threat to public safety.
Pennsylvania has been no exception. This was made clear in August of 2025 when several false active shooter reports targeted Villanova University.* These incidents not only terrorized students, parents, and faculty, but also forced law enforcement agencies into costly, high-risk mobilizations against threats that turned out to be fictitious.
Swatting can have serious and deadly consequences. But even when swatting does not result in a fatality or injury, it diverts valuable emergency resources away from real crises. Police, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel are pulled into dangerous and unnecessary situations, straining the capacity of first responders and endangering public safety.
It is imperative that we strengthen and adapt our laws in Pennsylvania to combat and punish this dangerous new type of criminal activity. To that end, I will be introducing two bills:
Bill #1
This legislation provides that an individual commits a felony when the individual engages in the act of swatting. Given the inherent risk of violence that accompanies every swatting incident, significant criminal penalties are warranted to hold offenders accountable and deter future acts.
Bill #2
This legislation will allow courts to order a person who is found to have engaged in swatting to pay the costs incurred by the state or municipality, or any other emergency responder, that responds to a swatting call. These costs will include wages or other compensation of any responder for time spent responding, for prosecuting the offender, and for costs of supplies and equipment used in responding to the swatting call.

*http://1 https://whyy.org/articles/report-swatting-group-responsible-villanova-shooting-hoax/; https://6abc.com/post/villanova-university-receives-another-false-active-shooter-call-police/17634909/.