WASHINGTON—A man from Romania has pleaded guilty to felonies after he made false reports to elicit tactical police responses—known as “swatting”—against a former U.S. president, several members of Congress, federal judges, and state officials.
“Swatting” derives its name from “Special Weapons and Tactics” (SWAT) teams that are organized by police departments across the world, who respond to particularly dangerous emergencies, such as terrorist attacks, mass shootings, and other weapons of mass destruction.
The phenomenon of “swatting”—i.e., falsely reporting such an emergency to elicit a SWAT response—has emerged in recent years as a means of intimidation or to drain national resources....
