November 2024 TorchStone Global Monthly Executive Protection Report
TorchStone Global believes that broader situational awareness and intelligence are key to providing quality executive protection—whether the principal is a Fortune 500 CEO, international celebrity, or local city council member. With that in mind, we are launching our monthly executive protection report, cataloging incidents we have captured through our open-source searches that are relevant to the practice of executive protection. We hope the report will serve as a centralized source of threat activity to provide insight into current trends in threats to high-profile individuals.
For more information on customized threat tracking for at-risk individuals, threat assessments, executive protection, or other security services, please contact us.
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Summary
The TorchStone Executive Protection Report tracked 21 domestic and 13 international security incidents or updates to prior incidents impacting high-profile individuals during the month of November. Below are some key incidents of note over the past month.
- There was a spike in apparently politically motivated swatting attacks over the Thanksgiving holiday. Anonymous callers targeted four of President-Elect Donald Trump’s cabinet and administration nominees and six Democratic lawmakers in Connecticut. It was unclear if the same actors were behind the swatting attacks against the two different groups of targets. A swatting attack targeting guitarist Lindsey Buckingham by a stalker earlier in the month led to police briefly detaining him until they could prove the call was a hoax. The spike in activity serves as a good reminder for public figures to prepare for swatting attacks over the holidays: there was a similar increase in swatting attacks targeting political figures from both parties at all levels of government over Christmas, Hannukah, and New Year’s holidays last year.
- Criminal actors continued to target the homes of professional athletes. Over the past month, we learned of burglaries targeting Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce on consecutive nights in October. Milwaukee Bucks player Bobby Portis is offering a reward after a burglar stole “most of his prized possessions.” Professional athletes’ high public profile, high net worth, and predictable travel schedule make them prime targets for professional thieves.
Business Executive
| Location: New York, NY | Tactic: Stalking | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
November 20, 2024: Authorities charged a Florida man with plotting to bomb the New York Stock Exchange. He actively collaborated with multiple FBI informants and undercover employees, expressing intentions to target the Stock Exchange to attract publicity.
Celebrity
| Location: Loch Lloyd, MI | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Home |
October 6, 2024: Authorities reported that the Kansas City-area homes of Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were burglarized last month. Cass County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the first incident at Mahomes’ home in Loch Lloyd, Missouri, shortly after midnight on October 6. Although there were no signs of forced entry, the sheriff’s report did not specify if anything was stolen.
| Location: Leawood, KS | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Home |
| Location: Los Angeles, CA | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Home |
November 2, 2024: Twitch streamer Kai Cenat fell victim to a swatting attack while livestreaming on the website. Cenat, who was starting his high profile “Mafiathon 2” 30-day streaming marathon, reacted live on stream as the situation unfolded. An individual called the police and stated that there was a shooting at the Hollywood Hills home. Local police circled the property in a helicopter, and then a team of officers entered the residence and cleared it without incident. Twitch streamers are a popular target for swatting attacks, as the swatter can watch their work unfold in real-time. Cenat was also the target of a swatting attack in November 2022.
| Location: Milwaukee, WI | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Home |
November 2, 2024: Burglars targeted the home of Milwaukee Bucks basketball player, Bobby Portis, while he was out. Portis stated that most of his prized possessions were taken and has since offered a $40,000 reward to anyone who has information about the whereabouts of his missing items.
| Location: Los Angeles, CA | Tactic: Stalking | Venue: Home |
November 3, 2024: Fleetwood Mac guitarist, Lindsey Buckingham, filed for a restraining order against a 53-year-old woman after she swatted Buckingham’s family. On November 3, the woman told 911 dispatchers that Buckingham’s son wanted to harm himself and that there were gunshots at his residence. The police response resulted in officers briefly detaining Buckingham until they realized that the report was a hoax. The same woman had approached the family’s home multiple times in recent months, leaving pictures of herself and loitering outside in her vehicle. During a prior incident, she told police that she was Buckingham’s daughter.
| Location: Hyattsville, MD | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
November 5, 2024: Celebrity chef Tobias Dorzon and another person he was with sustained gunshot injuries during an attempted armed robbery. The couple took a rideshare from a local restaurant and arrived at their destination at around 10:15 pm. A white SUV then pulled up behind them and multiple armed, masked individuals exited the vehicle and then approached them, firing several shots. Dorzon and his female companion both suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The suspects then left the scene in the white SUV. It is unclear if they stole any valuables.
| Location: Mumbai, India | Tactic: Stalking | Venue: Home |
November 7, 2024: Mumbai Police received an anonymous call threatening actor Shah Rukh Khan and demanding ₹50 lakh (roughly $60,000) extortion. Police traced the call to Raipur, and took a suspect into custody. According to the suspect’s phone records, police suspect that he was tracking the location of Khan’s son. The suspect allegedly sent death threats to the actor, demanded money, and conducted online searches about the actor and his family.
| Location: Mumbai, India | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
November 12, 2024: Police arrested a songwriter who sent death threats to celebrity Salman Khan. The lyricist posed as a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi Gang, a group that had sent Salman threats in the past. He messaged the city police WhatsApp helpline with a threat against Salman Khan and himself. During the call, the songwriter demanded ₹ 5 crore (roughly $600,000 USD) and stated that he and Khan would both be killed if the money was not received. The songwriter allegedly perpetrated the hoax to gain publicity for his song and career.
| Location: Los Angeles, CA | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
November 12, 2024: Musician Ray J claims that someone tried to shoot and kill him and alluded that he knew who it was. Prior to this, Ray J had a heated argument with P Diddy’s sons Christian, Quincy, and Justin, after a Halloween party in Los Angeles, although there are no concrete links between the events. Ray J went on to post another Instagram story showing damage to his car, which happened at around the same time.
| Location: Seoul, South Korea | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Communication Channels |
November 15, 2024: Authorities arrested a female live streamer on local video-streaming platform AfreecaTV for allegedly extorting approximately 800 million won ($570,395) worth of money and valuables from singer and musical actor Kim Jun-su. The suspect secretly recorded private conversations with Kim Jun-su and threatened to release the conversations to expose him. The blackmail continued over a five-year period from September 2020 after the two briefly dated.
| Location: Jonesboro, GA | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Communication Channels |
November 15, 2024: The family of missing TikTok content creator, Jiare Schneider, reported receiving multiple ransom demands after news came out of his disappearance. Police eventually found Schneider (@Big_Homie_TooTall) dead in a friend’s vehicle in a wooded area near his home ten days later. Schneider had left a “content house,” a place where influencers live or work together to make influencer content, in a friend’s silver Toyota 4Runner. He was driving to an adult club when his car veered off the road into a wooded area. The family is speculating that foul play may be involved, and police currently have the case under criminal investigation.
| Location: Sutherland, UK | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Home |
November 21, 2024: Masked thieves armed with a machete attempted to rob TV reality star Charlotte Crosby’s home. Crosby, eight months pregnant, was upstairs with her two-year-old daughter, Alba, while her fiancé, Jake Ankers, confronted and chased the intruders away. No injuries or thefts were reported.
| Location: Brentwood, CA | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Home |
November 28, 2024: Los Angeles police responded to a bomb threat targeting Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Brentwood home, following a report of an explosive device in his mailbox. Authorities, who described the incident as swatting, confirmed no explosives were found after searching the property and surrounding area. Schwarzenegger was not home at the time. Swatting incidents aim to provoke a police response through false threats.
Federal Government
| Location: Windsor, UK | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
October 27, 2024: Thieves used a stolen truck to break through a security gate and gain entrance to the Windsor Castle estate in late October. The thieves targeted Shaw Farm, located on the southern edge of the estate, approximately 1 mile S of Windsor Castle. While King Charles III was not there at the time of the incident, the Prince and Princess of Wales (and their children) reportedly were staying at their residence, Adelaide Cottage, 3/4 mile north of the Shaw Farm. There are no indications that the royal family members were targeted in the incident. The thieves stole a pick-up truck and quad bike from Shaw Farm facilities immediately adjacent to the southern entrance.
| Location: Margate, FL | Tactic: Stalking | Venue: Home |
November 2, 2024: The Margate Police Department alerted U.S. Representative Jared Moskowitz to a potential assassination plot against him. On November 2, officers arrested a man near Moskowitz’s home and charged him with firearms offenses. The suspect possessed a rifle, suppressor, body armor, and a manifesto targeting Moskowitz. Police found evidence of criminal intent but did not directly link it to the congressman.
| Location: Paiporta, Spain | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
November 3, 2024: During King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia’s visit to the site of Spain’s severe recent natural disaster, a mob of flood victims attacked the royal couple with mud, rocks, and debris from floodwaters. The national broadcaster reported that two bodyguards were injured, one of whom was visibly bleeding from the forehead. As the crowd shouted, “Get out! Get out!” and “Killers!” The royal family’s protection team used umbrellas in an attempt to block the debris. Police, including mounted officers, intervened as some members of the crowd brandished shovels and poles.
| Location: Johannesburg, South Africa | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
November 4, 2024: Mozambique’s leading opposition politician, Venancio Mondlane, claimed to have escaped an attempted assassination in South Africa where he had taken refuge after disputed elections in October 2024. He did not say when the alleged assassination attempt occurred but has stated that he has since left South Africa. Previously, associates of Venancio who were working to legally challenge the election results were gunned down on October 19th. The electoral authority of Mozambique claims that the incumbent Frelimo party’s Daniel Chapo won 70% of the vote. However anti-corruption NGO, The Centre for Public Integrity, claims that the election was the most fraudulent in 25 years.
| Location: Brasília, Brazil | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
November 13, 2024: A man detonated a bomb outside Brazil’s Supreme Court, killing himself after failing to gain entry, heightening security concerns ahead of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Brasília. Two explosions occurred that evening: one in a nearby parking lot and another at the court entrance, where the man’s body was found. Authorities suspect that he acted alone.
| Location: Maryville, TN | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
November 20, 2024: A federal jury convicted a man of conspiracy to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit violence, and threatening a federal official. The accused planned to target FBI agents involved in his January 6, 2021, Capitol riot case and faces a potential life sentence. Evidence revealed he created a “kill list” of agents, shared it with a co-conspirator, and strategized attacks on the Knoxville FBI office and agents’ homes using car bombs, drones, and firearms.
| Location: Washington, D.C. | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
November 21, 2024: Rep. Nancy Mace disclosed a threatening voicemail received by one of her staff members, stemming from her recent initiative to restrict transgender women from using female restrooms. The caller used derogatory language, including homophobic slurs, and encouraged the staff member to commit suicide. Another message from the same individual warned of violence and insulted South Carolina. Following these threats, Rep. Mace and her team have reported multiple incidents to Capitol Police.
| Location: Hebron, Israel | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Public Area |
| Location: Manila, Philippines | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
November 24, 2024: The Philippines’ security council is investigating an assassination threat by Vice President Sara Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife, and the House Speaker, following her chief-of-staff’s jail transfer for alleged fund misuse. The government considers this a national security issue, enhancing security and initiating a police inquiry.
| Location: United States | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Home |
November 28, 2024: Several of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet and administration nominees faced bomb threats and swatting incidents over the Thanksgiving holiday. Targets included Representative Elise Stefanik, nominee for U.S. ambassador to the UN; Lee Zeldin, tapped to lead the EPA; and Pete Hegseth, defense secretary nominee, who received a pipe bomb threat at his home. A family member of former Congressman Matt Gaetz in Florida also received a bomb threat. Investigations into the incidents did not discover any viable threats. The FBI is investigating these acts of intimidation in coordination with other law enforcement agencies. All individuals and their families remain unharmed.
| Location: Limuru, Kenya | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
November 28, 2024: Former Kenyan Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, accused the sitting government of failing to protect him and even harming him after violence erupted at a funeral he was attending. Additionally, Senators Karungo wa Thang’wa and John Methu accused police of attempting to abduct them during the chaos. The National Police Service denied arresting any current or former government officials.
| Location: Hartford, CT | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Home |
November 28, 2024: Anonymous bomb threats targeted the homes of six Democrat Congressional representatives over the Thanksgiving holiday. House Representatives Joe Courtney, Jim Himes, John Larson, Seth Magaziner, Jahana Hayes, and Senator Chris Murphy all issued statements that they were targeted. In all cases, law enforcement investigated and found no evidence of any bombs and likely consider these instances to be a form of swatting to distress the targeted individuals.
State Government
| Location: Lansing, MI | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
November 7, 2024: A state prison inmate faces charges for threatening to kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer by sending a letter to her office in May, promising violence upon his release from prison after a parole denial. The inmate faces charges of making a false report or threat of terrorism and potentially faces additional prison sentences of up to 20 years.
| Location: Binghamton, NY | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
November 7, 2024: The Binghamton Police Department conducted a search after a bomb threat targeted the New York State Attorney General’s regional office on the 17th floor of the State Office Building at 44 Hawley St. The Endicott Bomb Squad along with Binghamton K9 Units investigated the scene, found no explosives, and the building was reopened later that morning. The incident is still under investigation.
| Location: Norfolk, VA | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
November 10, 2024: State Senator Angelia Williams Graves, representing Norfolk’s 21st District, received an email threat against her and her family’s safety. Her staff informed her of the email, which claimed that a group had ordered her assassination and had conducted surveillance on her. The email went on to demand $5,000 in Bitcoin for further details. Shortly afterward, another email from the same source displayed images of weapons. Graves promptly notified the State Capitol and Norfolk Police, who traced the email to Nigeria.
| Location: East Baton Rouge, LA | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
November 12, 2024: Police arrested a 21-year-old LSU student for allegedly threatening to kill Governor Jeff Landry online after Landry reinstated the tradition of bringing a live tiger to Louisiana State University football games. Pemberton claimed his social media post was a jest but was upset by the decision. He faces charges of threatening a public official.
| Location: Norfolk, VA | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Office |
November 18, 2024: A 42-year-old man entered state Sen. Cordell Cleare’s Harlem office, threatening to “shoot up” and “blow up” the location if denied a meeting with her. Cleare, who was off-site, learned of the threats from her staff. NYPD arrested the man on charges including making terroristic threats and harassment. Security personnel and police removed him from the building, and he remained in custody by late afternoon.
Local Government
| Location: Milledgeville, GA | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
October 16, 2024: Police arrested a poll worker for sending a threatening letter to the Jones County election superintendent after a voter altercation on October 16. The letter, falsely attributed to a “Jones County voter,” threatened poll workers and warned of a “boom toy” at an early voting site. The accused faces charges including mailing a bomb threat and lying to the FBI, with a potential 25-year prison sentence if convicted.
| Location: Alexander, AR | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
October 31, 2024: Police arrested two women following a disturbance involving a firearm. Officers determined that the women were linked to threats against a city councilmember after a verbal argument with two family members. Both suspects face charges, including felony aggravated assault, felony terroristic threatening, and misdemeanor assault.
| Location: Vancouver, BC, Canda | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Home |
October 31, 2024: The house of Vancouver mayor Ken Sim was vandalized on October 31st. An unidentified individual(s) spray painted numerous racist and hateful messages on the garage doors of his home. Ken Sim previously received a bomb threat earlier in the year and was targeted by as many as thirty protestors who arrived at his home and threw “red-stained objects” at his residence.
| Location: Spokane, WA | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
November 11, 2024: Spokane City Hall went into lockdown after a man threatened a suicide-by-cop incident. He emailed council members and posted the threat online. Employees exited under police escort, and meetings were canceled. The individual has a history of harassing city officials and making violent threats. Police are investigating.
| Location: Three Rivers, PEI, Canada | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
November 12, 2024: Three Rivers, P.E.I., officials were the targets of aggressive social media threats, including mentions of violence and weapons, prompting safety concerns. Mayor Debbie Johnston reported receiving screenshots from concerned family members, and one councilor skipped a public event out of fear. The RCMP are investigating the threats and have increased patrols to protect council members.
| Location: Shelton, WA | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
November 14, 2024: A suspect vandalized the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, shattering two windows, including one in the records office, before fleeing to Brewer Park. Armed with a stick, the suspect ignored commands but was arrested after a brief standoff. Evidence and witness accounts linked the individual to the crime, leading to charges of first-degree malicious mischief and third-degree theft.
| Location: Endumeni Municipality, South Africa | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
November 14, 2024: An anonymous caller issued a bomb threat to the Endumeni Municipality offices, leading to the postponement of the scheduled mayoral election on November 14. Municipal authorities claimed that the threat was unrelated to the election. This was not the first bomb threat at the municipality, and the timing of this call significantly escalated local tensions.
Community Leader
| Location: Dubai, UAE | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
November 24, 2024: Authorities confirmed that Rabbi Zvi Kogan was murdered after going missing on November 21. Emirati authorities said that they have arrested three suspects linked to the kidnapping-murder but have not elaborated on the suspects’ identities or motivations. Authorities discovered the Rabbi’s abandoned car about an hour’s drive away from his home. Rabbi Kogan worked with Chabad Lubavitch to promote Jewish life in the United Arab Emirates, and he ran a kosher supermarket in Dubai. The UAE began full diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020, so it is one of the few Arab states where Israeli/Jewish culture is publicly tolerated. Emirati authorities are working with Israel to investigate the murder. Violent crime like this is rare in the UAE.