Several of Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees and appointees for his incoming administration have been targeted by bomb threats, the FBI says.
It said it was aware of “numerous bomb threats” as well as “swatting incidents”, in which prank calls are made to attract a police response to the target’s home.
New York Republican Elise Stefanik, who Trump has named to be the US ambassador to the United Nations, was the first to say her family home had been targeted by a bomb threat.
Police are investigating the incidents, which happened on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump’s transition team, said several people had been targeted and “law enforcement acted quickly to ensure” their safety.
Neither Leavitt or the FBI identified any of the targets by name.
But Stefanik’s office said the congresswoman was informed of the bomb threat while she was driving with her husband and three-year-old son from Washington to New York for Thanksgiving.
Separately, New York police later told the BBC’s US partner CBS that the home of Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, was also threatened.
Lee Zeldin, who Trump has nominated to become administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, also confirmed he was targeted, saying a “pipe bomb threat” was sent to his home with a “pro-Palestinian themed message”.
“My family and I were not home at the time and are safe,” he said. “We are thankful for the swift actions taken by local officers.”
Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, who recently dropped out of the running to become US attorney general, was also targeted
The sheriff’s office in Florida’s Okaloosa County confirmed that a bomb threat targeted an address in the town of Niceville.
The home’s mailbox was cleared and no devices were located, police said, and a search of the area did not uncover anything.
Fox News also reports that John Ratcliffe, Trump’s nominee to be director of the CIA, and defence secretary nominee Pete Hegseth were also targeted in the wave of threats.
