Teen Sentenced To Four Years In Prison For Making Over 375 "Serial Swatting" with Fake Threats
An 18-year-old teenager from Los Angeles County, Alan W. Filion, has been handed a four-year prison sentence after confessing to placing more than 375 "swatting calls." These calls involved fake reports of bomb threats and mass shootings at various locations throughout the United States.
Filion, a resident of Lancaster, admitted as part of a plea agreement that his calls targeted high schools, colleges, universities, religious institutions, and even government officials. The U.S. Department of Justice revealed that Filion's intention behind these calls was to prompt significant emergency responses from law enforcement agencies.
Prosecutors highlighted that Filion's actions resulted in law enforcement officers being tied up responding to false threats, rendering them unavailable to attend to genuine emergencies. Some of the calls led officers to arrive at locations with weapons drawn, detaining individuals based on the erroneous information provided by Filion.
In a disturbing social media post dated January 20, 2023, Filion boasted about his ability to manipulate law enforcement responses, claiming that he could make the police drag victims and their families out of their homes, handcuff them, and conduct searches for nonexistent dead bodies.
As per the plea deal, Filion confessed to making these calls between August 2022 and January 2024. In November, he pleaded guilty to four counts of making interstate threats to harm others. Prosecutors had initially warned that he could face a maximum of five years in prison for each count, totaling up to 20 years behind bars.
During his sentencing on Tuesday, Filion was handed a 48-month prison term. The U.S. Department of Justice described Filion as a "serial swatter" who engaged in this behavior for both financial gain and entertainment. They referenced an online post where Filion mentioned his decision to turn these calls "into a business" in January 2023, even advertising his swatting services on social media platforms.
Further complicating matters, Filion was arrested in connection with Florida state charges on January 18, 2024. In this instance, he threatened to carry out a mass shooting and harm everyone at a religious institution in Sanford, Florida, in May 2023. Filion claimed to possess pipe bombs, an illegally modified AR-15, a Glock 17 pistol, and Molotov cocktails during this threat, leading to his guilty plea in federal court.
