Maine Secretary of State ‘swatted’ day after removing Trump from 2024 ballot

Shenna Bellows announced last week that Donald Trump was ineligble to appear on the 2024 ballot

Maine’s Secretary of State was the target of a “swatting” just one day after she announced Donald Trump has been disqualified from Maine’s 2024 ballot.

Police received a call from a man claiming to have broken into Shenna Bellows’s Manchester, Maine home, according to a statement from Maine State Police. Ms Bellows was not home on 29 December, and police found nothing suspicious in or around the home when they searched.

The incident remains under investigation, police said.

A “swatting” incident refers to fake calls to 911 that can lead to heavily armed and armoured law enforcement teams being dispatched.

The day prior, Ms Bellows announced that Mr Trump was ineligible to appear on the state’s 2024 ballot under the 14^th Amendment, which bars any person who has “engaged in an insurrection” from holding office.

The Colorado Supreme Court cited the same amendment when they barred Mr Trump from Colorado’s 2024 ballot. On 2 January, Mr Trump appealed Ms Bellows’s decision in state court.

Several other politicians were also the victims of swatting during the holiday season.

On Christmas Day, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said her family’s home was swatted, and that she had received a death threat on social media just days beforehand.

That same day, Boston, Massachusetts Mayor Michelle Wu said she experienced a swatting, local outlet WBUR reported. She told the outlet she is “used to it” after several previous incidents. On 27 December, US Senator Rick Scott said his home in Naples, Florida was swatted while he and his wife were out eating dinner.