WASHINGTON — An apparent “swatting” incident targeted the home of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Wednesday night, police confirmed to NBC News.
Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, said Thursday that the call was received through the police department’s nonemergency line just after 9 p.m. ET.
“Officers immediately coordinated with Supreme Court Police personnel assigned to the residence and quickly determined that the report was fictitious,” Fairfax County police said in a statement. “No additional police resources were utilized.”
The Supreme Court’s public information office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Barrett, whom President Donald Trump appointed in 2020, was on the bench Thursday morning for decisions.
According to a recording of the police dispatch obtained by NBC Washington, a dispatcher alerted responding officers that a caller, who identified themselves as a neighbor, reported “gunshots heard” at an address belonging to Barrett in Fairfax County.
Later in the recording, a dispatcher says, “Be advised, we have not been able to get an answer on callback to the complainant’s phone number.”
“Unknown if it’s going to be a swatting situation or not,” the dispatcher continued, noting that the address “has 24-hour security coverage for a high-priority resident of the county.”
Swatting refers to hoax emergency calls that prompt law enforcement responses to harass, intimidate or otherwise harm the targets. At times, the incidents can lead to dangerous consequences when armed police arrive.
Barrett and her family have been the targets of threats in the past. In March 2025, Barrett’s sister Amanda Coney Williams was the target of a bomb threat at her home in Charleston, South Carolina.
Other justices have faced threats. A woman was sentenced in October to eight years in prison after she pleaded guilty to attempting to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh. She was found near Kavanaugh’s home in 2022 armed with a handgun, a knife, pepper spray and burglary tools, according to authorities.
Federal judges across the country have reported harassment and threats over rulings they made against Trump. Many have received threats through anonymous pizza deliveries to their homes — a move that has become a common tactic of intimidation.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his annual report in 2024 that the number of threats against judges has tripled over the last decade. The U.S. Marshals Service, which is tasked with protecting judges, reported 564 threats against judges in fiscal year 2025.
