Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation to target “swatting” (HB 279) via what the Governor called “bogus 911” calls during a press conference.
The bill targets false complaints resulting in an emergency response, making it a third-degree felony if the report causes great bodily harm or permanent disfigurement or injury, and a second-degree felony if someone dies due to false reports.
Moreover, the bill cuts the number of false reports requiring a felony penalty from four to two, and puts the false reporter on the hook for the costs of prosecution and investigation, as well as for restitution for material damages to victims.
DeSantis spoke to Fox News about his plans to sign the bill earlier Wednesday, which he said will combat an “ideological bent” in malicious, false reports to police.
He noted during the press conference that conservative talker Benny Johnson recently was targeted in Tampa, and made the same case on cable news.
“We’ve had actually SWAT focused on conservative media personalities throughout the country, including in Florida. So there has been somewhat of an ideological bent to this,” DeSantis said on “America’s Newsroom.”
Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, who backed the bill, said it provided more “deterrence” via “enhanced penalties” to “make sure the people who are actually calling are actually paying.”
Republican Sen. Tom Wright, a former paramedic and K9 volunteer, noted that a false call puts vehicles and the public in jeopardy, especially given some communities have very little equipment.
“It’s not the right thing to do,” Wright said. “Anybody who’s watching this and thinks it’s funny to do this: no.”
Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County defended the bill and talked about other 911 calls that showed “rank stupidity,” with one person calling because he was hungry.
“We’re not Uber Eats,” Judd said. “But we are Jail Eats.”
Another caller faked a home invasion, he noted.
Still another said he was “high on meth” and claimed he “just shot someone,” but instead he “shot up his own house 29 times.”
Judd noted that fake 911 calls used resources and made them unavailable to “save someone’s life.”
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