At least three US senators were targeted by a troll (or trolls) on Thursday as they heard testimony from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and the woman who has accused him of sexual misconduct, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.
Senators Mike Lee, Lindsey Graham, and Orin Hatch had personal information, including mobile phone numbers and home addresses, added to their Wikipedia pages by an unknown person. Screenshots of the information also circulated widely on Twitter.
All three Republicans are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which interviewed both Kavanaugh and Ford on Thursday.
Gizmodo confirmed several of the personal details provided, many of which are provided on candidate forms that are publicly accessible. The mobile phone numbers, at least two of which are confirmed real, appear to not be listed online.
The Capitol Police were notified once the Wikipedia changes were noticed by aides, Gizmodo confirmed.
“Senator Hatch and a number of other Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee were targeted after they questioned Judge Kavanaugh,” Hatch spokesperson Matt Whitlock told Gizmodo. “It’s alarming that anyone would want to put Judiciary Committee Republicans and their families in danger.”
Graham spokesperson Kevin Bishop said that his office was aware of the incident, but declined to comment further on the response.
In emotional testimony, Dr. Ford described vividly a memory of more than 30 years ago in which, she said, a drunken Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and tore at her clothes while covering her mouth to muffle her screams. Ford also said she believes Kavanaugh intended to rape her, and that it was hard for her to breathe, adding that she had feared Kavanaugh might “accidentally” kill her.
Kavanaugh has denied Ford’s allegations. Before the panel, he yelled at one point, “I am innocent of this charge!”