Maine secretary of state targeted with ‘swatting call’ after ruling Trump ineligible for ballot

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows was the subject of a “strong call” Friday night, state police said.

The incident occurred just a day after Bellows, a Democrat, ruled that former President Donald Trump is constitutionally ineligible to appear on the state’s primary ballot next year.

State police said they received a call around 8:15 p.m. from a man who said he had broken into Bellows’ home. When officers arrived, they found no one in the home and searched the exterior and interior of the property at the request of Bellows, who was not home at the time.

State police said they found nothing suspicious inside the home and the caller has not been identified. They added that the incident remains under investigation and that they are working with law enforcement partners “to provide special attention to any and all appropriate locations.”

“Swatting” is a false report of a crime or emergency that is intended to attract a police presence to a location.

Bellows did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.

In a statement posted to his Facebook profile page on Saturday, Bellows said: “We were not home yesterday when the threats escalated and our home address was posted online. It was a good thing because our house was flattened last night. It was So when someone calls in a fake emergency to provoke a strong police response to scare the target. Crushing incidents have resulted in casualties, although fortunately not this one.

“This behavior is unacceptable,” he continued. “The continued threatening communications that people who work for me endured all day yesterday are unacceptable. They are designed to scare not only me but others into silence, to send a message.”

In his statement, Bellows expressed his gratitude to authorities for their support, as well as to the employees of his department. He also called on those reading his message to “encourage those you influence to tone down the rhetoric.”

“We should be able to agree or disagree on important issues without threats or violence,” he added.

Bellows’ decision followed a first-of-its-kind ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court last week that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution bars Trump from holding office again because of his role in the attack on the Capitol. from January 6, 2021.

Bellows’ office said his decision would not be enforced until the courts intervene, “given the shortened deadline, the new constitutional issues involved, the importance of this case and the looming ballot preparation deadlines.”

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement after the decision: “We will quickly file a legal challenge in state court to prevent this egregious decision in Maine from taking effect.”

He also called Bellows “a former ACLU attorney, a virulent leftist, and a hyperpartisan Biden-supporting Democrat who has decided to interfere in the presidential election on behalf of corrupt Joe Biden.”

Trump had demanded that Bellows, a former state senator, recuse herself from the case, arguing that she was too partisan and biased because she had called the Jan. 6 attack an “insurrection.”

Trump is expected to appeal the Colorado high court’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Courts in Michigan, Arizona and Minnesota have ruled against petitions to disqualify Trump from the polls in those states.