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Police responded to a “call” at the residence of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett in Virginia on Wednesday evening, police confirmed, marking the latest security scare involving a conservative.
“Last night at approximately 9:02 p.m., police responded to a call at the United States Supreme Court in Fairfax County,” a public information officer for the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Department told Fox News Digital on Thursday when asked about reports of an alleged incident at the home of Coney Barrett.
Fairfax police responded to Coney Barrett’s home after receiving a call from the department’s non-emergency line, then met with law enforcement’s security detail, who confirmed the report was “a hoax,” the officer told Fox News Digital.
The incident comes amid years of heightened threats against Supreme Court justices, including protests outside the justices’ homes after the 2022 Dobbs draft was leaked and the arrest of a California man near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh who was later charged with attempted murder.
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Superior Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett was targeted in a fatal shooting at her home Wednesday evening. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“The police immediately contacted the Supreme Court officers assigned to the area and quickly discovered that the report was false. No other police resources were used,” the police department said.
Swatting calls target a person by calling a false police report about murders, hostage situations, bomb threats or active shooters that would require a major law enforcement response – at the target’s home.
A portion of the police audio recording was heard by X on Thursday who reported that “a call came in for the sound of gunshots.” Law enforcement can be heard saying there was a “suspicious” noise during the 24-hour security of a “very important citizen” in the region.
Barrett was on the bench Thursday morning next to his colleagues, and he read aloud summaries of two opinions he wrote. Barrett did not address Wednesday’s incident in his remarks from the bench.
“Swatting is an attempt to kill an innocent person—in this case, a sitting Supreme Court justice,” wrote Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee on X as reports of the incident emerged Thursday. “The right answer will put the offender behind bars for years.”
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Police watch as abortion rights advocates protest outside Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home in Chevy Chase, Md., on May 18, 2022. Protests have occurred occasionally outside the homes of justices who signed a draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide. (Bonnie Cash/Getty Images)
The incident follows years of security concerns involving Supreme Court justices, including protests outside the homes of conservative justices after the leak of Dobbs’ 2022 draft that showed the court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.
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The leaked Dobbs opinion became a rallying cry, with abortion rights activists protesting outside the homes of Coney Barrett, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and many other members of the court.
In June 2022, California man Nicholas John Roske was charged with attempted murder for making violent threats against Kavanaugh while carrying a gun, knife and pepper spray near the courthouse. He was later sentenced to eight years in prison.
Attacks on conservative leaders have been on the rise, most recently against the commander in chief, including in April at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.
Protesters gathered near Justice Barrett’s home. (Fox Stories)
There have been two public assassination attempts on Trump’s life in 2024, starting in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his ear after a gunman climbed onto the roof during a rally on July 13, 2024.
Earlier this month, a California Army veteran known for displaying Make America Great Again memorabilia and American flags outside his residence, dubbed the “Trump House,” was attacked and beaten to death.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Supreme Court for comment.
Bill Mears of Fox News contributed to this report.
