ATLANTA — A popular social media streamer says she was swatted while broadcasting live from Atlanta.
Diamond the Barbie, a well-known online streamer, said she and several friends were detained by Atlanta police over the weekend after someone watching her livestream made a false report that one member of the group was armed with an AK-47.
“It was so scary,” Diamond told Channel 2’s Ashli Lincoln.
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Diamond was visiting Atlanta for Furry Con and had been livestreaming throughout the day. Video from her broadcast shows she and her friends stopping at Metro Mart on Metropolitan Parkway, unaware that police were responding to the false report.
Moments later, officers approached with guns drawn and ordered the group to the ground.
“We got on the ground and all I kept hearing was just, you know, ‘whole crossfire, whole crossfire,’” Diamond said.
Bystander Erica Turner recorded the encounter as officers handcuffed Diamond and her friends outside the store.
After a brief investigation, police determined the report was false and released the group.
“Once the police realized that he didn’t have an AK-47 on him, they were like, ‘Oh, this is a prank,’” Diamond said.
Swatting is the act of making a false emergency report, such as a bomb threat or active shooter call, to prompt a large law enforcement response.
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Diamond said the caller appeared to be watching her livestream in real time and described what she and her friends were wearing.
“When you’re in a situation like that, you don’t have 10 seconds to think. You have one second to think,” she said.
Georgia lawmakers made swatting a felony in 2024. A conviction can carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Diamond said she has been swatted before and believes the risk is growing as more people use livestreaming platforms to document their daily lives and generate income.
“I feel like law enforcement, they have to take any call seriously,” she said. “These swatters know all the right things to say to make it so they could send the whole police force out there.”
Diamond said she paid for a police escort for the remainder of her trip to Atlanta and is considering making private security a regular precaution.
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