Gay Twitch streamer Nickolas Potter AKA GlizzyGamer to his gaming friends and followers, abruptly ended his June 17 stream because of “swatting,” which occurred when a group of police officers detained him at his home in connection with what may have been a hate crime.
Nickolas Potter halted his Pokémon Y Twitch stream and went outside after hearing his husband’s name and their address over the police speakers outside his home. Potter was greeted by a group of police officers who had their weapons raised and yelled at him to put his hands behind his head.
One officer informed the gay streamer that this appeared to be a case of “swatting,” which occurs when someone provides the police with a false tip to direct them to a specific location, frequently the residence of a specific person. Then, with weapons drawn, law enforcement shows up at the home of the victim of swatting, thinking that a violent crime might be happening.
Swatting has been happening for at least a decade and seems to be particularly common in the gaming industry. Criminals frequently use other people’s computer IP addresses to find their addresses and other personal information, which they then provide to the police along with a false narrative.
While swatting shares some similarities with childhood prank calls, it differs from those by involving law enforcement and is much more serious. It is at the very least, a traumatic experience for the victim, and, at the very worst, it can be fatal. Andrew Finch was killed in a 2017 “swatting” when an officer opened fire on him after he opened the door.
When his husband got home, the police released Potter after showing that nothing in the tip had been true. He was a man Potter mentioned on Twitter, and if the police had done any research, they would have known he was married to Potter.
The couple doesn’t have any enemies, as the police enquired. Additionally, the police didn’t appear particularly concerned about what might have been a violent crime. Potter’s husband overheard an officer discussing how he believed the tip would result in a “big bust” on a phone call that was still going but that the police had forgotten about.
The gay streamer concluded his tweet thread by stating that he had learned that many Twitch streamers had been “swatted,” but that getting a VPN could help to offer protection.
While swatting had been a problem in the gaming community for a while, Mashable reported in 2017 that it was getting worse with the introduction of services like Twitch, the platform of choice for Potter and many others.
Potter’s motives remain unknown, but his theory that they may have been motivated by homophobia given that it occurred during Pride month seems as plausible as any.
Six drag queens who stream while playing video games, known as “Stream Queens,” were all swatted over the course of three months in 2021. The queens described these swatting incidents as “a manifestation of homophobia and transphobia,” according to NBC News.
A Twitch representative told NBC that the service constantly works to enhance its security measures and safeguard its users, but Potter’s experience makes it clear that more needs to be done.
As for Potter, this episode has had an impact on him both metaphorically and emotionally. Potter added that the swatting assault has changed the way he views new stream joiners. They are unavoidably potential threats in his eyes.
