Elix, a drag queen from Las Vegas, was playing a video game on a live stream on November 9 when she was bombarded with threats. She heard police outside her house asking her to step outside with her hands up.
A swatting is a federal crime where an individual or group of people call the police on an innocent person and make a false claim of being an active shooter, kidnapper, or another type of criminal. The practice is used against livestreamers so that the person calling the police can see them respond in real-time as the target is streaming.
Elix said that six members of Stream Queens, a drag queen and makeup streaming partnership, have been swatted in the last two months.
A lot of people don't speak when they are swatted. A lot. Elix said that she was not the only queen who had experienced this. We are not huge streamers. We mind our business, we make people happy, and people are attacking us for that.
Elix was playing Dead by Daylight when she was attacked and her internet service was disrupted.
Elix told Insider that an unknown person called local law enforcement and said that she was going to kill herself and slit her brother's throat in the basement of her house.
Elix's chat log was bombarded with troll information about three hours into a gaming livestream. She could hear police announcements on the loudspeaker outside as her phone began to light up with calls.
Elix said that she approached a group of police officers. Most homes in the area don't have basements, so they were skeptical about the call being legit.
She was handcuffed and searched at her home.
The perpetrators use tags to target streamers.
Elix filed a report with the police department three years ago to warn them of a harassment campaign against her. She said that Elix went through the LGBT tag on twitch and began to cyberstalk her and send bomb threats to her previous workplace.
I was embarrassed. I was angry. I don't know who did this to me, so I'm trying to channel the rage into something positive. I don't know. Elix told Insider that the people will never be held accountable because it never happened in the year.
After Elix was handcuffed, the LVPD officers called their department to inquire about her file from the previous year and make sure to update it with the latest information before releasing her. Elix said she decided to keep going with her stream.
Elix told Insider that when he came to this country from Mexico, a lot of people told him he didn't belong. People have tried to push me out of what I love, but that only motivates me.
The victims of swatting are trying to get justice.
Elix doesn't think that anyone who harassed her will be held accountable, but she does think that livestreaming platforms need to do a better job of helping their users protect their identities and privacy. Elix was warned against pursuing legal recourse by other users who had been swatted.
I think these platforms need to make it easier to work with local law enforcement. Elix said that if someone is posting your legal address on a website, don't make the local law enforcement in that jurisdiction have to file a subpoena.
Elix thinks that livestreaming platforms should offer resource pages to streamers with tips on how to protect their identity and privacy, as well as guides on what to do after being doxxed or swatted.
It's happening more and more now, especially within the umbrella. Elix said that the silence was disappointing and that he wished that the streamer spoke on it. I'm going to be loud and let people know that lives are in danger.
Insider reached out to the two organizations.
