Christian author recounts harrowing ‘swatting’ incident

A Christian author and apologist who was recently “swatted” at his rural Alabama home told The Christian Post he believes the recent spate of false police reports made against conservative commentators indicates the Left is getting desperate.

Larry Alex Taunton told CP he grabbed his pistol and nearly shot a heavily armed police officer who attempted to enter his house shortly after 1 a.m. on March 17.

The local sheriff’s office in Talladega County responded in full force that morning upon fielding a call from a man who said he was trapped inside Taunton’s blood-soaked home after having been shot in the leg amid three active shooters at his residence.

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‘Thank God’

As has been the case for approximately 15 other prominent conservative voices in recent weeks, the call was fake and made in an apparent attempt to instill fear and potentially instigate a lethal situation.

Swatting is a form of criminal harassment where someone makes a false emergency call to law enforcement, typically reporting a serious crime with the intent of provoking a large police response involving Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) units.

“I’ve never had an experience where police came without sirens or lights while not announcing themselves,” said Taunton, who claimed nine police cars surreptitiously parked in his gated community that night as the deputies descended on him, decked out in body armor and loaded for bear.

Taunton, who said he was already awake during that early morning because he struggles to sleep, recalled he was clad in his boxers as he investigated after Ranger, his vigilant German Shepherd, alerted him to potential intruders outside.

“So here’s someone trying to breach my front door with a semi-automatic rifle without announcing himself,” he said. “I’m armed. I can see him, he cannot see me. And I’m thinking, ‘If this guy comes through my door, I will shoot him. I’m not asking questions. He’s more heavily armed than I am, and if I’m to have any chance at all, I will have to shoot first.'”

1/5

I was SWATed last night as you can see in these 3 videos.

I was in bed, but noticed Ranger, my German shepherd, was on the prowl, his ears up. I heed his instincts.

I then saw a flicker of light on my BR door. Ranger went to investigate, I got my gun….. pic.twitter.com/B6MIKHC3V8

— Larry “Terrorist” Taunton (@LarryTaunton) March 17, 2025

Taunton’s footage of the incident, which shows a deputy trying Taunton’s locked door before all of them ultimately identified themselves and defused the situation, has amassed more than 36 million views on X as of Monday.

“Thank God the door was locked,” Taunton said.

Common threads

Taunton joins other conservative influencers who have been swatted after being outspoken on social media regarding Ukraine, Israel and corrupt waste in USAID.

While he concedes he is not a household name, Taunton believes he potentially placed a target on his back when he recently visited the USAID compound in Cairo, Egypt, to investigate its operations.

Driven by his prior reporting on the USAID’s alleged involvement in controversial activities such as human trafficking, Taunton bluffed his way past Egyptian security guards last month at the gate of the USAID facility, which he characterized as a military-style compound. He was detained by Egyptian security forces, and his video of the incident has drawn millions of views.

***USAID – CAIRO CORRUPTION***

By God’s grace, I am now out of Egypt.

Let me state at the outset of this report:

• An X????is insufficient to tell the full story.

• There are ongoing complications. So you must read between the lines.

Last week in a????that got 12 million… pic.twitter.com/GWBHb2OxzD

— Larry “Terrorist” Taunton (@LarryTaunton) February 17, 2025

Based on his communications with others who have been swatted, he also pinpointed his public opinions regarding the corruption in other countries, such as Ukraine.

“A lot of the information that they’re sharing is quite fascinating,” he said of the other SWAT victims he has since come to know. “What all of us apparently have in common is a support for Israel, criticism of Hamas and criticism of Ukraine.”

“Is it possible that somebody in Ukraine didn’t like the fact that I said I just don’t think that the United States should send billions of dollars more to Ukraine?” he said. “It’s possible. Is it because of my run-in with the Egyptian secret police, which became almost an international incident?”

‘Demonic strongholds’

Taunton told CP he sees his own ordeal in the context of a larger spiritual battle.

“These are demonic strongholds, and we wrestle not against flesh and blood,” he said. “But I think that the corruption that we’re talking about here — everything from human trafficking, sex trafficking, funding of terrorism — this not speculative; we know that USAID has been involved in this kind of stuff.”

“This really comes down to not just political agendas,” he said. “I think this comes down to money. There’s greed involved here. Those taps are being threatened to be shut off. These people want that tap open. To me, it’s the most desperate measure of all when you resort to violence. It’s indication that everything else has failed.”

A spokesperson for the FBI told The Christian Post that their policy is to neither confirm nor deny if they are conducting an investigation on a case, but both Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have condemned swatting and promised an investigation.

“Attorney General” Pam Bondi on the swatting incidents:

“We are looking into all of these swattings. These investigations are important because they are not practical jokes; they are meant to terrorize the people in the homes and risk the lives of law enforcement officers.” pic.twitter.com/h6AHZqvdLP

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) March 19, 2025

During an interview with radio host Vince Coglianese last week, Vice President JD Vance was asked about both the proliferating swatting incidents as well as the attacks on Tesla vehicles and facilities.

“My guess is that if we do get to the bottom of this, we are going to find out there are some very crazy, very deranged but very wealthy left-wing people who are funding this stuff, and I think that is the most important thing that we have to focus on,” Vance said.