As Twitchy readers know, conservative influencers have been getting 'swatted' a great deal in the last week.
@DataRepublican is doing what she does best and looking through the information and data to see if there is some way to help determine who is doing this and why. And, of course, if there is a pattern that may help others avoid being swatted.
Take a look:
Here's the list I compiled using Grok. Please add / correct. @realchasegeiser was swatted on March 12 and 13, likely in Texas, given his association with InfoWars in Austin.@joetalkshow was swatted on March 12, confirmed to be in Texas.
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
@GuntherEagleman was swatted on March…
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- @GuntherEagleman was swatted on March 13, residing in Texas.
- @Shawn_Farashwas swatted on March 13, likely in Tennessee based on recent X posts. @catturd2 was swatted on March 13, confirmed in Texas.
- @RealHickory was swatted on March 14, in Indiana, as mentioned in his X post.
- @Beard_Vetwas swatted on March 16, inferred to be in Nebraska from his X profile and mentions of local law enforcement.
- @matt_vanswol was swatted on March 16, confirmed in North Carolina from his X posts about Western North Carolina.
- @GrageDustin was swatted on March 16, confirmed in Minnesota from his X posts about local legislation.
When you look at it like that ... wow. Not to mention, we saw Juanita Broddrick posting about getting a bunch of pizzas delivered, so she called the police immediately. What is going on? We get it, the Left is unhinged and can even be dangerous, but this seems almost cocky at this point as if they're daring law enforcement to find them.
🧵 THREAD: Unmasking Swatting Patterns 🧵
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
Three additional MAGA X influencers got swatted today: @Beard_Vet , @matt_vanswol , @GrageDustin .
I used Grok to compile the following list of swatting victims and then ran it through both Grok and OpenAI’s deep research tools to find… https://t.co/mpuzUH2npt
Recommended
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... to find common patterns.
I also used AI to analyze who wasn’t swatted, to identify differentiating factors. Finally, I attempt to identify the next high-priority targets. Thread follows.
And it's one heckuva thread.
The top AI identifying factor among swatted victims: association with @elonmusk , and/or prominence in alt-media such as InfoWars or War Room.
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
Documenting receipts (sorry, this will be slow): pic.twitter.com/Kwm4ldsTid
. @JoeTalkShow is a big fan of Elon: pic.twitter.com/ZUam7wHcu8
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
.@elonmusk has a history of interacting with @GuntherEagleman , @Shawn_Farash , @catturd2 , @matt_vanswol : pic.twitter.com/E07vTuNSV6
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
Interesting.
Keep going.
. @GrageDustin is in the list as well. @Beard_Vet 's association is less obvious, but he is a frequent reply guy, as is Gunther's brother @RealHickory : pic.twitter.com/JjVj6uYvpI
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
Another common factor AI identified was that most of the victims either expressed support for Israel or anti-Hamas sentiment, distinguishing them from other alt-media influencers. Receipts from @RealHickory , @JoeTalkShow , @GuntherEagleman , @realchasegeiser . Important to note… pic.twitter.com/j3HGNzOCow
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
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... that both Mr. Eagleman and Mr. Geiser are against foreign aid for Israel, so this is not a blanket pro-Israel sentiment.
Things that make you go hrm.
Receipts from @Shawn_Farash , @catturd2 , @Beard_Vet , @matt_vanswol pic.twitter.com/yfyUtJjFFK
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
And finally @GrageDustin .
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
The reason I mention this is, again, this soft pro-Israel siding is a significant differentiating factor from other right-wing members. pic.twitter.com/kV6AUGbLbD
Another common factor is that AI noted all of those accounts amplify each other frequently, and many have been guests on either InfoWars, or War Room, or both. They form a clique of sorts, with the possible exception of @JoeTalkShow who is more mainstream.
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
People with big voices.
Frequent amplification by @BasedMikeLee on all those accounts was also noted.
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
High profile media accounts more closely associated with the mainstream, such as @charliekirk11 , @JackPosobiec , and their associates were not considered targets.
There are clear patterns emerging.
When you look at it this way, with the data, she's right, there is a clear pattern emerging.
Let's recap. Here are the risk factors to being a target of swatting:
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
🔹 Engagement with Elon Musk and amplification by Elon Musk
🔹 Real life identity is known
🔹 50K+ follower count, usually 150K+
🔹 Guests or employees of InfoWars, War Room, or adjacent alt-media shows
🔹…
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Expressed pro-Israel, or at least anti-Hamas sentiments
Frequently amplified other swatting victims in the past Amplification by @BasedMikeLee
Pro-Hamas 'protesters' may be involved?
Some have noted that all the targets are male, which might explain why @atensnut , @nataliegwinters , and I fulfill these criteria but are not swatted. Perhaps it has to do with the logistics of not being a "protector" of household.
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
Except Juanita ...
. @matt_vanswol suggested that foreign actors might be involved. I also find it possible that it isn’t a coincidence that this began alongside the cyberattacks on X from Ukraine and may even be the work of the same group.
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
Whoa.
Apparently, two more people were swatted this morning:
At least two were more swatted on the early morning of March 17th. the Elon connection is not as strong, but both are primary X platform, alt-media journalists with known real-life identities. @ImFiredUp2 - from South Carolina, lowest follower count yet at 40.5K. Is a podcaster… pic.twitter.com/wW8M9jgCRu
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
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... Is a podcaster and responds to Elon frequently.
@LarryTaunton- location unknown, Grok seems to think Alabama, another podcaster with a strong X presence and 154.5K follower count.
And the Elon factor.
I'd like to aggregate timestamps and timezones from the victims, so if you can reply with the times you got swatted, we can see if there's any overlap there. The pattern seems to be 2-4 a night, suggesting the perpetuators are either limited in resources or intentionally…
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) March 17, 2025
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stretching out the campaign. So far I have @matt_vanswol who got swatted at 1:40 AM ET on 16 March. @realchasegeiser @joetalkshow @GuntherEagleman @Shawn_Farash @catturd2 @RealHickory @Beard_Vet @GrageDustin @WCdispatch_ @LarryTaunton @nicksortor @ImFiredUp2
We'll keep an eye on this one.
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