Ludwig swatted amid YouTube chess tournament, hits out at “inept” LA police
YouTube: LudwigYouTube star Ludwig Ahgren was swatted during his August 28 chess tournament broadcast. Thankfully, everyone in his household is unscathed, with Ludwig more “annoyed” than “distraught” after police officers swept his property.
Ludwig is the latest victim of a swatting incident after Los Angeles police stormed his house on August 29 and forced an abrupt end to his chess tournament. Multiple armed officers could be seen checking his streaming room before the YouTube broadcast was taken offline.
Following up soon after to assure fans everything was ok, Ludwig appeared back in front of the camera to address the situation. Having been swatted “multiple times” in recent years, the popular YouTuber claimed he was completely “fine” after the latest encounter with police.
“Everyone’s fine,” he said. “We’re fine, boys. If you missed the end of the last stream, you might not know the stream ended abruptly. As I went upstairs to refill my water, I was met with the gun of a police officer.”
For roughly an hour Ludwig sat in the back of a police car while they “went through [his] house” room by room. This is allegedly standard protocol and something he’s experienced before without bringing much attention to it.
“As you can see, I’m not too shaken up,” he continued. “Maybe a little bit of adrenaline. Generally, I’m pretty fine. The initial part is kind of scary but then it’s quickly overwhelmed with a sense of annoyance. I’m just annoyed.”
This frustration stems from his past experience with local law enforcement. Having been the victim of swatting on numerous occasions, he’s talked to various officers on how to avoid repeat incidents moving forward.
“I do have to quickly talk about the ineptitude of the police departments in Los Angeles,” he said shortly after turning the stream back on. “I’ve been swatted a few times, this is generally how it goes: They take it very seriously at first. Eight squad cars, two firetrucks, one helicopter going around, because there’s some made up story” from the viewer that called it in.
“Every time it’s happened to me before, they say ‘hey, give us a phone number and we’ll call you when it happens again.’ Because of that, I always have my phone on me when I stream. I’m prepared for a phone call. The problem is, they’ve never called. Every time they come, I get a little more annoyed.”
Clearly, the police are just doing their jobs, but with repeated calls tied to the one household, Lud was hoping to avoid any further swatting incidents, wasting not only his time, but theirs too.
On one occasion, police allegedly told the YouTube personality he should look into securing a “different job” to avoid such hassles. “That can’t be the solution,” he laughed.