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Taylor Swift’s life in the spotlight hasn’t been all Champagne problems.

Between the money, fame, multiple Grammy Awards, and platinum records, the pop star, 34, has experienced some of the most dangerous run-ins with obsessive fans — some of whom are still out there.

“The threats on her life have become so persistent that her security team installed facial recognition software at the venues she performs in to specifically distinguish her stalkers from her fans,” Jake Brennan, host of the “Disgraceland” podcast, said in a January 2022 episode.

“Imagine that you’re so famous and so harassed that [you’d need] technology that is specially programmed and installed to identify the lunatics that want to kill you,” he added.

Since then, more creeps have been arrested for allegedly stalking the “Cruel Summer” songstress — most recently, an unidentified man on Jan. 20, who had reportedly been trying to get into her New York City apartment in Tribeca “for a few weeks.”

Other violent pursuers have ranged from Roger Alvarado breaking into Swift’s luxury homes to Eric Swarbrick driving more than 900 miles to send her “love” letters.


  Taylor Swift attends the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton on Jan. 7, 2024. Getty Images Taylor Swift attends the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton on Jan. 7, 2024. Getty Images

The barrage of stalking incidents has had a dramatic effect on Swift, who wrote a candid essay for Elle in March 2019 where she opened up about her peeping Toms.

“You get enough stalkers trying to break into your house and you kind of start prepping for bad things,” she wrote. “Every day I try to remind myself of the good in the world, the love I’ve witnessed, and the faith I have in humanity. We have to live bravely in order to truly feel alive, and that means not being ruled by our greatest fears.”

Here’s a look back at the Swift’s stalkers — and their dark motives for pursuing the singer.

Unidentified man in Tribeca


  New York Police are seen detaining a suspected stalker outside Taylor Swift’s apartment in Tribeca on Jan. 20 in New York City. GC Images New York Police are seen detaining a suspected stalker outside Taylor Swift’s apartment in Tribeca on Jan. 20 in New York City. GC Images

An unidentified man was arrested on Jan. 20, 2024, for allegedly trying to break into Swift’s New York City apartment in Tribeca.

A spokesperson for the New York Police Department told Page Six at the time that officers received a call about a “disorderly person” at her Franklin Street residence.

“Upon arrival, [police] were informed that the individual attempted to open a door to a building at the location,” the officer added.

Sources told the outlet that the man had been scouring the neighborhood where the “Karma” singer lives “for a few weeks.” One resident claimed they called police “many times” but officers did nothing until the man actually tried to get into the building.


  Police called him “David” during the arrest. BACKGRID Police called him “David” during the arrest. BACKGRID

“When he arrived before Christmas, my husband asked what he was doing here and he said, ‘I want to see Taylor,’” another neighbor claimed. “He even had flowers at one point.”

Another resident told the outlet that the man had been “sleeping on the stoop, chain-smoking constantly, shouting, and generally making everyone uncomfortable.”

“I asked him to leave this morning and he just stared at me, catatonic,” the neighbor added. “Total nutcase.”

Mitchell Taebel


  Mitchell Taebel La Porte County Sheriff's Office Mitchell Taebel La Porte County Sheriff's Office

Mitchell Taebel of Indiana was arrested and charged in June 2023 on charges of stalking, invasion of privacy, intimidation, and harassment after making numerous attempts to contact Swift at her Nashville penthouse and through social media.

Security guards allegedly intercepted him at her Nashville apartment on May 5 when he got into the building through an unsecured door. He then went to Nissan Stadium where Swift was performing that night where he was recognized and taken away by security.

Taebel allegedly told Swift in a voice memo sent through Instagram that “he would happily wear a bomb if he cannot be with his soul mate.”

He also allegedly sent threatening letters to her dad, Scott, claiming to be Swift’s “soulmate” as well as dancers on her “Eras Tour,” threatening them if there was a “sexual performance of ‘Vigilant S–t.’”

The charges against Taebel were dismissed in December 2023 at the prosecutor’s request “in the best interest of justice and due to (the) unavailability of (a) witness.”

Joshua Christian


  Joshua Christian (Kevin C. Downs for The New York Post ) Joshua Christian (Kevin C. Downs for The New York Post )

Joshua Christian of Brooklyn was arrested and charged with stalking and criminal trespass in July 2022 after traveling “across multiple states” to see Swift at her Tribeca apartment.

The NYPD claimed Christian, then 35, arrived at her property in March and June of 2022.

Security escorted him out of the building on March 26 after Christian allegedly got in through an unlocked door.

“You’re dead you know. You’re holding her prisoner and I need to set her free,” Christian allegedly said into the intercom of Swift’s home on June 12, according to the assistant district attorney.  

Eric Swarbrick


  Eric Swarbrick Courtesy of Metro Nashville Poli Eric Swarbrick Courtesy of Metro Nashville Poli

Swarbrick drove 900 miles — from Austin, Texas, to Nashville, Tennessee — on three separate occasions to deliver more than 40 letters and death threats to Swift, her former label Big Machine Records and its CEO Scott Borchetta, in 2018.

“I will not hesitate to kill her, Scott,” one of Swarbrick’s threatening letters said. “And there is nothing that you or your lawyers or the law can do about it.”

Swarbrick’s obsession with Swift began when he was 22 years old and continued for four years.

“He felt the object of his obsession with Taylor Swift reach out to him in over 100 dreams,” Brennan says in the podcast. “Eric logged these visions into his notebooks and [felt] he had waited long enough to claim her.”


  Taylor Swift performs onstage during “The Eras Tour” at NRG Stadium on April 21, 2023, in Houston, Texas. Getty Images for TAS Rights Management Taylor Swift performs onstage during “The Eras Tour” at NRG Stadium on April 21, 2023, in Houston, Texas. Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

Swarbrick’s letters were cordial at first, and he even sent “respectful” emails to Big Machine. But no one answered him.

The letters got progressively scarier and more threatening, eventually saying that he wanted to “rape and kill” Swift, U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee said in a statement.

Swarbrick opted to send his letters in person to the record label and not to Swift’s homes. He knew her residences had “security like Fort Knox,” so going to her houses was out of the question.

He eventually pleaded guilty to charges of stalking and was later sentenced to 30 months in prison. When his jail stint ends next year, he’ll be subject to supervised release for three years.

Roger Alvarado


  Roger Alvarado William Farrington Roger Alvarado William Farrington

Alvarado broke into Swift’s Tribeca apartment not once, but twice in less than a year (April 2018 and March 2019).

“Roger Alvarado was among the worst,” Brennan said. “Police found him napping in the bed of her NYC apartment. He just showered in her private bathroom and was as fresh as a demented little daisy. He was waiting for her.”

Alvarado spent six months in jail for attempted burglary for the first time he crashed at Swift’s Big Apple pad. After his release, he did it again.


  Taylor Swift attends the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins game in KC on Jan. 13., 2024. AP Taylor Swift attends the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins game in KC on Jan. 13., 2024. AP

Police said he used a ladder to climb the back of the building and then used a concrete block to smash through the glass door.

After his second arrest, he eerily told Page Six that he doesn’t regret his actions. When asked if he would do it again, he replied: “Probably, with more violence, but not towards her. I don’t want to hurt her. I just wanted to speak to her, to talk to her. She seems nice [and] cool.”

David Liddle


  David Liddle Courtesy of Westerly Police Depa David Liddle Courtesy of Westerly Police Depa

“‘A crowbar. An aluminum baseball bat. Lock picks. A few pairs of rubber gloves.’ Taylor couldn’t bring herself to keep reading [the newspaper article],” Brennan said about David Liddle, a man from Iowa who was arrested near Swift’s Rhode Island mansion in 2019 and brought these items along with him.

The police caught Liddle near the home, where he had no suitcases but held onto a backpack full of tools. Liddle allegedly told the cops that he was an old friend of Swift’s, and he was there to get some music industry tips from her.

The case against Liddle was dismissed in August of that year.

No matter who the person was, “each one of these men were the same sick bastard inside. They all professed love for a woman they never spent a second with,” Brennan says on the show. “They were in love with a Google search. Nothing more.”

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