California teen pleads guilty to making hundreds of ‘swatting’ calls across the US

A California teenager pleaded guilty Wednesday in a case involving the swatting of a Florida mosque among other institutions and individuals, federal prosecutors said.

A California teenager pleaded guilty Wednesday in a case involving the swatting of a Florida mosque among other institutions and individuals, federal prosecutors said. Alan W. Filion, 18, of Lancaster, California, entered the plea to four counts of making interstate threats to injure the person of another, the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said in a news release. He faces up to five years in prison on each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Swatting is the practice of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers to a particular address. Bomb threats go back decades in the US, but swatting has become especially popular in recent years as people and groups target celebrities and politicians. “For well over a year, Alan Filion targeted religious institutions, schools, government officials, and other innocent victims with hundreds of false threats of imminent mass shootings, bombings and other violent crimes. He caused profound fear and chaos and will now face the consequences of his actions,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a news release. FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said Filion intended to cause as much harm as possible and tried to profit from the activity by offering swatting-for-a-fee services. “Swatting poses severe danger to first responders and victims, wastes significant time and resources, and creates fear in communities. The FBI will continue to work with partners to aggressively investigate and hold accountable anyone who engages in these activities,” Abbate said.