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Florida getting tougher on people who make bogus 911 calls

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Published  May 23, 2025 4:31pm EDT
Florida
FOX 13 News
Gov. DeSantis signs anti-swatting law

Gov. DeSantis signs anti-swatting law

Evan Axelbank reports.

The Brief

    • Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill this week that cracks down on "swatting" calls.
    • A swatting call is when someone calls 911 when they shouldn't.
    • The new law goes into effect on July 1.

TAMPA - The State of Florida is getting even tougher on people making bogus 911 calls.

The backstory:

The governor signed legislation this week that cracks down on the practice of "swatting," where a caller makes a call to law enforcement, getting them to respond as if there is someone in immediate danger.

During a news conference on Wednesday, Polk Co. Sheriff Grady Judd held up a poster board that showed mugshots of seven suspects who are accused of misusing his county's 911 system.

One of them called to try to order food. 

But it gets much more serious than that.

"This lady dials 911. She says (she is) armed with a knife. We've got a home invasion," Judd said. "And she said, Oh, just kidding. I made it all up."

That's all part of why the governor signed a bill this week that makes it a felony for anyone who makes a false report to 911 that results in someone getting hurt as part of the law enforcement response. 

What they're saying:

"Even if nobody's hurt, it's taking resources and time and manpower away from actually doing the job that we want our law enforcement and first responders to do," said Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Swatting took a high profile in Florida after the home address of Sen. Rick Scott was targeted by a bogus 911 call.

"I want 10 grand in cash, and I will let the hostage go," the mechanical voice said during the call, which also mentioned the senator's address.

Law enforcement immediately called the senator to make sure everything was OK.

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"The goal, of course, whoever did it, was for somebody to get hurt, whether it's law enforcement or us, my family," Scott said in January of 2024.

The anti-swatting bill requires repeat offenders to face even bigger charges, and it also requires payment of restitution to law enforcement agencies and to victims. 

"If you swat, you are going to get hit," said DeSantis.

Law enforcement sometimes says suspects are hard to catch, either because they're overseas, or because they disguise where they're calling from. 

What's next:

The bill goes into effect on July 1.

The Source: FOX 13's Evan Axelbank gathered the information for this story.

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