Local Virginia police responded to a swatting call Wednesday night at the home of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Police radio traffic confirmed that law enforcement received a report describing a “suspicious noise of gunshots” at Barrett’s suburban Virginia address.
The call prompted an immediate law enforcement response to the residence, drawing officers to the scene in what authorities treated as a potential emergency situation.
A dispatcher warned responding officers shortly after the initial call was received that the report may not be authentic.
The dispatcher also alerted officers that a “high priority resident of the county” lived at the address, signaling the elevated sensitivity of the situation.
Swatting incidents involve false emergency calls made to law enforcement with the intent of drawing a large police response to a targeted individual’s home.
Such incidents have increasingly been directed at high-profile public figures, including elected officials, judges, and other prominent members of government.
Barrett, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, resides in suburban Virginia, where the incident took place on Wednesday evening.
The warning issued by the dispatcher suggested that local law enforcement may have had prior awareness of the potential for such calls targeting residents of Barrett’s profile.
Authorities were in the process of being reached for further comment regarding the details and outcome of the response to the reported incident at Barrett’s home.