JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.— Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft says his home was “swatted” Sunday, the latest in a national trend of government officials targeted by the prank 911 calls.
The incident follows Ashcroft‘s post on X Friday that suggested Republican Secretaries of State could remove President Joe Biden from the 2024 presidential ballot if former President Donald Trump is kept off the ballots in Colorado and Maine.
Ashcroft’s Friday post included a link to an article about the Supreme Court saying it will decide whether Trump can be kept off the ballot because of his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
His post also said “while I expect the Supreme Court to overturn this, if not, Secretaries of State will step in & ensure the new legal standard for Trump applies equality to Biden.”
Sunday, the gubernatorial candidate posted about the swatting incident saying “he and his family are safe and that he is grateful to Jefferson City law enforcement for the professionalism with which they handled the situation.
In a statement released Monday morning, Ashcroft says he was home with his wife and children when police called him asking if everything was fine. The police told Ashcroft that they received an emergency call saying that there had been a shooting at the residence.
“It ended up with me walking out of my front door with my hands up with several armed police officers in front of my house. I’m so thankful the Jefferson City Police Department handled the situation with an extreme amount of professionalism and that no one was hurt. It is unfortunate their resources and manpower had to be used on a prank,” said Ashcroft. “I am hopeful those responsible for such childish, cowardice acts will be brought to justice.”
In December, several synagogues and Jewish facilities were targeted by swatting incidents. On Christmas morning, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was the target of a swatting attempt at her Georgia residence. Maine’s Secretary of State who removed Trump from ballot was targeted in swatting call at her home in late December.
In the state of Missouri, courts have ruled that the Secretary of State does not have the ability to remove candidates from primary ballots. In an interview with Spectrum News on Monday, Ashcroft suggested he wasn't seeking it out.
"In Missouri I do not believe that I should be taking people off the ballot. I hold myself to the exact same standard that I hold Colorado and Maine to. I don’t think they should have done what they did, and I don’t think what they did was right. And that’s why I’m so hopeful that the United States Supreme Court will step in and say no this isn’t how you do it. Secretaries of State don’t have the unfettered right to just say 'I think you violated this, you’re gone.'"
"Colorado did not give due process, did not actually find him guilty in a competent court of law of committing insurrection and yet they threw him off the ballot. The people that are saying you can’t throw Joe Biden off the ballot for these allegations of insurrection are the same people that are saying you can throw President Trump off the ballot for an allegation of insurrection. What I’m saying is, if allegations are all it takes, then allegations are all that will be required of everyone. Having said that, just allowing it to be done by allegations is horrendous and I am against that," Ashcroft, a 2024 GOP candidate for governor said.
One of his primary opponents, State Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, has promised legislation in the wake of the actions in Colorado and Maine that was would take Biden off the Missouri ballot. Without seeing language in the bill, Ashcroft declined to comment on the proposed legislation, and instead will await a decision from the Supreme Court, which will hear the appeal from Colorado next month.
"The court needs to come back and say no, you can’t do it by allegations, you can’t do it without due process, you have to have a full due process that our constitution guarantees....I’m trying to tell the court. Youve gotta stop this. I’m the guy saying this road is bad, don’t go down it. I’m not the one saying hit the accelerator."