Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a bill that increases penalties for making false reports to authorities. The law comes as conservatives and right-wing influencers have been targeted in swatting activities.
According to the bill, any individual who makes a false report to law enforcement will be ordered to pay the “costs of prosecution and investigation” and pay “restitution to any victim who suffers damage or injury as a proximate result of lawful conduct arising out of a law enforcement response.”
“Swatting is a tactic of cowards who use fake reports to law enforcement to harass people who they disagree with politically. Today, Florida gets even tougher on swatting,” DeSantis wrote on X upon signing the bill.
“To increase penalties for swatting, I signed HB 279, which introduces felony charges for individuals who make false 911 reports that result in significant harm. Offenders with two or more convictions for unauthorized use of emergency communications services will also face felony charges, regardless of whether significant harm resulted from their habitual false reporting,” he wrote, noting, “If you try this in our state, you will face punishment.”
Sharing an incident where conservative media personality Benny Johnson was swatted, DeSantis said during a press conference, “Someone called the police and made a fake report, and law enforcement did, basically, a raid on his home.”
“These are not victimless crimes,” he stated.
Earlier this year, Cape Canaveral Hospital was briefly placed on lockdown Saturday night following a swatting hoax threat, according to police and hospital officials.
A spokesperson for Health First stated that a false 911 call reported an unspecified threat against the hospital, leading to a large police response. Authorities conducted a thorough sweep of the hospital and the surrounding area.
