An Arizona woman known as “GrammaCrackers” has vowed not to yield to those who orchestrated a dangerous swatting call while she was livestreaming online.
Sue Jacquot, an 81-year-old YouTube personality with hundreds of thousands of followers, ran a 24/7 livestream campaign to raise funds for her grandson’s cancer treatment. The campaign took a shocking turn on Monday when police arrived at her home following a false report that her grandson had shot her and intended to commit suicide.
“They’re not going to tell me what I can do,” Jacquot said, reflecting on the incident. “They’re not going to make me afraid to do that.”
Jacquot had been sharing videos with her grandsons, Jack Self and Austin Self, playing Minecraft. When one of them was diagnosed with cancer, the family faced mounting expenses as insurance declined coverage.
“He’s had 200 chemo treatments in like a year and a half,” Jacquot explained. “That’s a lot of expensive bills that the insurance company won’t touch.”
The family planned to livestream for 15 days when more than a dozen Queen Creek police officers arrived at their doorstep after receiving a swatting call. During the incident, police woke Jacquot from her bed and escorted her out of the house.
“They just sort of escorted me out, and they were apologizing,” GrammaCrackers said. “I just wondered what my grandkids had done.”
Swatting is an online tactic where false emergency reports are made to law enforcement in an attempt to create violent confrontations at victims’ homes. In some cases, these incidents have resulted in fatal outcomes.
Police are investigating the incident, but Jacquot remains resolute. She recalled that after sharing her experience on YouTube, she received an overwhelming outpouring of support from her grandsons.
“I’ve never gotten so many hugs and attention from my grandsons,” Jacquot said.
