St. Joseph County Councilwoman Amy Drake says her family was the target of a “swatting” incident just hours before a high-profile vote on a proposed $12 billion data center.

According to the statement, the incident occurred around 2 o’clock, Wednesday morning, when Department of Child Services caseworkers and sheriff’s deputies arrived at her home for what was described as a welfare check. The official said she was still at the County-City Building in South Bend listening to public testimony on the data-center project when her husband alerted her that officers wanted to question him and their children.

She called the late-night visit “frightening and unwarranted,” alleging it was carried out by individuals attempting to harass and intimidate her ahead of the vote. “Whoever did this put my children and family at substantial risk, traumatized my kids, and deserves to be prosecuted,” Drake said.

Upon learning of the situation, Drake contacted 911 to report that the welfare call was a false claim and asked police to de-escalate. She also reached out directly to St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman.

Drake said she expects DCS to mark the report as false and called for a full investigation to identify the person responsible for making the fraudulent allegations.