81-Year-Old Grandma Streaming Games to Help Pay Grandson’s Cancer Bills Gets ‘Swatted’
Shortly before 11 p.m. on May 18, more than a dozen armed police officers in tactical gear surrounded a home in Queen Creek, Arizona. The resident they found inside was not a criminal. She was an 81-year-old grandmother named Sue Jacquot, fast asleep, while her Minecraft livestream kept running on her screen. The reason someone called the police on her makes the story even more absurd. And her reaction to the whole thing is almost impossible to believe.
Meet GrammaCrackers
Sue Jacquot launched her streaming career in 2024 and built a devoted following thanks to her laid-back personality and family-friendly Minecraft content. Known online as GrammaCrackers, she has grown her YouTube channel to more than 600,000 subscribers by doing something most people her age have never tried: playing video games on camera for the world to watch. What started as a way to bond with her grandchildren became something far bigger than she ever expected.
A Grandson’s Fight
Jack Self, 17, was diagnosed in 2024 with a form of sarcoma cancer that affects bones and soft tissue and required frequent hospital stays. He described the treatment as demanding, saying he went through around 200 chemotherapy sessions over the course of a year. The financial toll on the family was significant. Jacquot says her video ad revenue goes toward Jack’s treatment for the rare form of sarcoma, which affects muscle and tissue. Behind the cheerful gaming content was a family quietly fighting for survival.
Why She Picked Up the Controller
Sue Jacquot started the GrammaCrackers channel in the summer of 2025 after her grandchildren introduced her to Minecraft. “I was never really curious about it,” Jacquot said, “but when you have grandkids who want to interact with you, you do it.” Her first video, a 15-minute introduction titled “The BEST START EVER,” went viral and now has more than half a million views. What began as a grandmother trying to connect with her family turned into one of the internet’s most-watched gaming channels.
The Community That Showed Up
The GoFundMe page, set up by Jack’s brother Austin, called on the public to support Jack’s fight against the aggressive disease. Donations ranged from one dollar to five thousand. The GoFundMe has since raised over $59,000 for Jack’s treatment. Jack is now cancer-free. Strangers from across the world rallied behind a grandmother they had never met, turning her simple gaming videos into a lifeline. Then, in the middle of a 24-hour fundraising stream, someone decided to destroy that.
The Night the SWAT Team Arrived
Per the recollection of GrammaCrackers’ family, the police arrived in full force, with 20 police cars, five SWAT vehicles, and drones flying over her house. Someone had falsely reported to police that she had been shot and killed. Officers entered with torches and rifles while her Minecraft stream kept rolling, unwatched. Viewers tuning in that night saw armed police walk through her home on a live broadcast. Jacquot herself slept through the initial response, unaware of what was unfolding around her.
“It Was Kinda Fun”
In a follow-up video, Jacquot gave her account of being woken by officers and walked outside in bare feet. “I didn’t know what was going on,” she said, “but it was kinda fun. My kid and my grandkid were hugging me. I don’t get that kind of attention normally.” “I have never had that much attention in my life,” she laughed. She praised the officers as “wonderful” and added that her first police car ride ended with an ibuprofen and an early bedtime. Her composure in the face of something genuinely dangerous was remarkable.
What Swatting Actually Is
Swatting is the act of calling in a fake emergency, usually a violent crime, to trigger a full armed police response at someone’s home. Someone falsely reported to police that Jacquot had been shot and killed, sending officers to her door under the belief they were responding to a murder. The tactic is illegal across the United States and is prosecuted as a felony at both state and federal levels. The identity of Jacquot’s swatter has not been revealed. The incident was as dangerous as it was pointless.
When Swatting Turns Deadly
On December 28, 2017, Tyler Barriss made a hoax 911 call reporting a hostage situation at a home in Wichita, Kansas. Officers responded to find Andrew Finch, 28, at his front door. He had no involvement in the dispute that prompted the call. An officer shot and killed him. Barriss is now serving 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to 51 counts. His sentence is believed to be the longest ever imposed for swatting. GrammaCrackers was lucky. Not everyone targeted this way has been.
Still Streaming
Sue Jacquot took her ibuprofen, went to bed, and returned to her stream the next morning. She continues to stream and is raising money so her grandson can receive treatment that insurance will not cover. Someone tried to use a dangerous and illegal act to silence a grandmother helping a sick teenager. It did not work. The swatter remains unidentified. The GoFundMe remains open. And GrammaCrackers is still live on Twitch, still playing Minecraft, and still refusing to stop.