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Crime United States

'Serial Swatter' Who Made Nearly 400 Threatening Calls Gets 4 Years In Prison (thehill.com) 98

Posted by BeauHD from the prank-caller-meet-real-consequences dept.
Alan W. Filion, an 18-year-old from Lancaster, Calif., was sentenced to four years in prison for making nearly 400 false bomb threats and threats of violence (source may be paywalled; alternative source) to religious institutions, schools, universities and homes across the country. The New York Times reports: The threatening calls Mr. Filion made would often cause large deployments of police officers to a targeted location, the Justice Department said in a news release. In some cases, officers would enter people's homes with their weapons drawn and detain those inside. In January 2023, Mr. Filion wrote on social media that his swats had often led the police to "drag the victim and their families out of the house cuff them and search the house for dead bodies."

Investigators linked Mr. Filion to over 375 swatting calls made in several states, including one that he made to the police in Sanford, Fla., saying that he would commit a mass shooting at the Masjid Al Hayy Mosque. During the call, he played audio of gunfire in the background. Mr. Filion was arrested in California in January 2024, and was then extradited to Florida to face state charges for making that threat. Mr. Filion began swatting for recreation in August 2022 before making it into a business, the Justice Department said. The teenager became a "serial swatter" and would make social media posts about his "swatting-for-a-fee" services, according to prosecutors.

In addition to pleading guilty to the false threat against the mosque in Florida, Mr. Filion pleaded guilty in three other swatting cases: a mass shooting threat to a public school in Washington State in October 2022; a bomb threat call to a historically Black college or university in Florida in May 2023; and a July 2023 call in which he claimed to be a federal law enforcement officer in Texas and told dispatchers that he had killed his mother and would kill any responding officers.
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'Serial Swatter' Who Made Nearly 400 Threatening Calls Gets 4 Years In Prison More

'Serial Swatter' Who Made Nearly 400 Threatening Calls Gets 4 Years In Prison

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  • Why didn't he get a longer sentence? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 11, 2025 @09:02PM (#65160525)

    400 swatting calls is pretty egregious.

    • Apparently each call is only worth ~4 days.

      • That's about white.

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Tablizer ( 95088 )

          I see what you did there. No comment.

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by Required Snark ( 1702878 )
          It's interstate, so he could have been charged at the federal level for terrorist threats. That would be a looong time in the federal pen.

          But he's a white racist kid from conservative Lancaster north of Los Angeles so that wasn't going to happen.

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by vbdasc ( 146051 )

          Is the perpetrator's race disclosed anywhere? Or is it your racism talking?

          • Re: Why didn't he get a longer sentence? (Score:5, Informative)

            by gtall ( 79522 ) on Wednesday February 12, 2025 @05:20AM (#65161001)

            Check the news sites, there's a mug shot or at least a picture of him. He's spoiled white brat, 4 years is not enough in my opinion.

            • Re: Why didn't he get a longer sentence? (Score:5, Insightful)

              by vbdasc ( 146051 ) on Wednesday February 12, 2025 @07:10AM (#65161095)

              I've seen his picture, IMHO he looks racially ambiguous. Anyway, this is not even the point, I question the motive to mix the "white race" in this. Did he shout "White powah!" or something? If a ($race) man committed some random crime and somebody said "Look, a ($race) man did this!" then everyone would rightfully consider this an expression of racism, no?

              4 years is not enough in my opinion.

              Now, I fully agree with this.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by mjwx ( 966435 )

              Check the news sites, there's a mug shot or at least a picture of him. He's spoiled white brat, 4 years is not enough in my opinion.

              Lets hope he gets sent to a decent PMITA prison, rather than a weekdays only holiday home.

              Personally against long prison sentences as they do cost money (prison is warranted in this case) however I'd want this guy on severe phone restrictions for decades, only allowed to have a monitored phone account, can't use other peoples phones, get caught using a payphone and get arrested (although will payphones even exist when this guy gets out). He's abused his rights and freedoms with phones, so those should be

            • So the part about being white should be an aggravating factor in your view?

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by e3m4n ( 947977 )

              If you know where he is incarcerated you could make a donation to someones commissary account in exchange for a beat down. Do that a few times a month for like $20 in funions. Theres other ways to distribute justice.

      • Yeah seems a bit light, but he pled guilty, it seems like he didn’t kill anyone, and at age 18 there’s a significant chance he can be rehabilitated. I wonder if the sentence was lighter because of the incredibly lacking societal response. A 16-year old is literally advertising swatting services on social media, and both the cops AND the social media companies sit there picking their noses? Sorry, but after swatting incident #10, I question whether it’s the kids’ fault, or society

        • Fist, fault isn't a zero-sum game. Just because society has 100% fault, it doesn't mean there's nothing left for the kid.

          And yes, incident #1 of swatting is already society's fault. Literally no other country has this (except maybe in extremely rare circumstances), and not for lack of idiots, terrorists, threats or cops. Most understand that the factual ability to run around with and in gear that would put an WW2 army to shame comes with the responsibility of extra precautions when, and kn particular BEFORE

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Z00L00K ( 682162 )

        Should be 1 month.

        That'll be a bit over 33 years.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by mysidia ( 191772 )

      It seems that this prosecution is a travesty. 400 Instances of swatting Including swatting for profit, and only charged with making threats? This criminal conduct is very dangerous for victims of swatting - It is so much more than a threat. Innocent people have suffered physical harms, and there are even deaths due to swatting offenses.

      The additional actions should have added conspiracy and racketeering charges for assault. He and his accomplishes; should have gotten a minimum of 15 years a piece

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by ObliviousGnat ( 6346278 )

        there are even deaths due to swatting offenses.

        Because the police officer who doesn't shoot first and ask questions later is fired. [cnn.com]

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by mysidia ( 191772 )

          Because the police officer who doesn't shoot first and ask questions later is fired.

          The criminals responsible for these incidents are aware of that, so they are also criminally liable for the likely action of police. These type of attacks ought to be regarded the same as attempted murders and punished similarly. A shooting is a thing that happens and is at a high risk, but these incidents can be fatal even without any shooting at all. The mere disturbance is an act of Life-threatening violence in an

    • States Evidence (Score:5, Informative)

      by JBMcB ( 73720 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2025 @09:49PM (#65160613)

      Apparently he's helping the FBI track down all the people who hired him, which got a bunch of time knocked off his sentence.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by suutar ( 1860506 )

      He only pled guilty to 4 cases. I bet Florida can't prosecute the ones that weren't called in to Florida, so maybe some other states will get on this and he'll get more time.

    • 400 swatting calls is pretty egregious.

      I guess I'm old. One swatting call is pretty egregious in my opinion. When I first heard about swatting a couple decades back I wasn't sure which was more appalling, the fact that people were doing it and getting people killed or that it was common enough to have a name.

      • Not to make light of it, or suggest it's not a problem, but I could only find two confirmed deaths as a result of a swatting incident. One the fella had a heart attack. The other responded to the no-knock entry of the police, whom he could not see, with a firearm. Given the guy was not an actual criminal, and had no reason to suspect the police were the ones kicking down his door, it stands to reason he though he was the victim of a home invasion.. The cops shot him.

        I don't know if that could even be avo

        • Didn't the cops identify themselves as they came in? I know they're supposed to, so doesn't that put them at fault? If nothing else, I can see a big, fat wrongful death suit in the near future.

        • I'm fairly sure more than two people have died from swatting incidents as I can recall more than that being reported over they years. Still, I don't think it's a lot more than that though.

          Aside from the emotional trauma of getting your door kicked in and facing a SWAT team at gunpoint there is also the physical damage done to the property. It's very rare that a person is even allowed to sue a law enforcement agency for serving a warrant in good faith let alone win for the physical damage caused. Hell, the

        • There have been others [wikipedia.org], even reported on slashdot [slashdot.org], where an unrelated 3rd party was killed because a false address was given in an argument. The guy walked out of his house when ordered by police, unarmed, not knowing what was going on, and was shot and killed by the police. I remember that one because it was relatively close to me.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by kmoser ( 1469707 )
      Or at least made to pay restitution to all the law enforcement depts who wasted their time responding to the calls. That should add up to a pretty penny.

      • If he can't pay, he can assist with training. IE random 2 am SWAT raids on his place.

      • Or at least made to pay restitution to all the law enforcement depts who wasted their time responding to the calls. That should add up to a pretty penny.

        Since cops are absolutely worthless 99% of the time, it'll add up to about tree fiddy.

      • What would that achieve? Just think about that for a moment. What is your long term goal out of this situation? Financially crippling someone isn't a punishment. Fining someone a small amount enough to set them back is a punishment. Finically crippling someone becomes meaningless, the end result is that they are forced into a position they can't get out of.

        When in that position, do you think you'll become an upstanding normal citizen, or do you think just maybe committing further crimes becomes seen as the

    • This also shows how easy people can fake caller id and location... I mean the police just shows up and starts breaking shit on a call this also seems like an issue that they dont investigate. Four years since fair, its not like he shot anyone. I fault the police for not having better tools.

    • The judge felt sorry for him having to live in Lancaster.

      • The judge felt sorry for him having to live in Lancaster.

        Born and raised there - the struggle is real.

    • 400 swatting calls is pretty egregious.

      Especially when you consider some of the places targeted. May his fellow prisoners find out who he nailed.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by CEC-P ( 10248912 )
      He took a plea deal to get a lower sentence. Allegedly he's working with the FBI to reveal who hired him. I think it's BS and also they should have executed him. 400 counts of attempted murder is kinda high.
    • He deserves a swatting with a medium cane every four days.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by e3m4n ( 947977 )

      and yet:
      THE NEW YORK TIMES – A Georgia man who the authorities said kept more than 100 dogs in cruel conditions at his home has been sentenced to 475 years in prison after being found guilty last month of dogfighting and cruelty to animals, prosecutors said.

      swatting has resulted in the unintentional murder of uninvolved 3rd parties who did nothing more than answer a door at 2am and get shot by swatt. Its a shame that 100 human victims is worth less than 100 dogs.

      • He did not get anyone killed. We both know he would be in for a very long time if harm resulted.

        As to the dog abuser? Fuck him. I hope he rots. Partly because those years are probably concurrent, not consecutive and/or he'll get probation or later parole.

        • Not disagreeing with this. But I think in fairness, criminals should be prosecuted for the consequences of their actions which they knowingly accepted -- not spared for the ones that didn't happen out of sheer luck. Charge all reckless drivers with involuntary manslaughter, too.

          Maybe that even happened in this case, though, as rumour seems to be that the sentence is so light due to him coopearating in catching others.

    • I think the main question to ask ourselves is what would a longer or shorter sentence achieve. I would actually be for a shorter sentence. Yes this is a piece of shit who did very shitty things. This is also an 18 year old. He is stupid for a number of metrics, by definition. His stupidity took a very dark turn and had terrible impact. What does a four-year sentence achieve that a two-year sentence wouldn't? I remember reading that it's basically established that the certainty of being caught and sentenced

  • He'll get someone on the outside to smuggle him a cell phone.

  • good lord (Score:3)

    by roc97007 ( 608802 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2025 @10:46PM (#65160707) Journal

    I hope he has more charges to face.

    • Any particular reason to want him to face more charges? Consider:

      - He's 18 now. He started this when he was 16 or so.
      - 4 years is about a quarter of his life-to-date. And he's been in jail for some months already, if you were inclined to quibble.
      - He is (apparently) cooperating with authorities to track down those who hired him.

      Questions:
      - Do you think that throwing him behind bars for 8 years, or 12, or 20, would make him less, or more likely to re-offend? Do you think he would come out of prison with a

  • 400 charges of attempted murder is what it shoulda been. Everyone knows how trigger happy the cops are. There have been enough incidents on the news of people being killed in swatting attacks that he can't claim in was intended as a harmless prank. Let's assume he did think that (yeah right, be real), it is still extreme negligent behavior. 4 years isn't that long a time he may be out before we escape the Trump presidency.

    • 400 charges of attempted murder is what it shoulda been.

      It should also be 400 charges of attempted murder spread over various police forces too?

      The police aren't in principle mindless agents here, the fact that Swatting is a bigger problem than wasting police time the the fault of the police.

      • Do you wake up every morning asking yourself what you can say to dig the hole Democratic supporters have dug for themselves even deeper?

        • Not really sure what the Democrats have to do with this specifically. Kind if seems to be a bipartisan problem of a militarized police force which has been getting steadily worse over the years.

          From outside America, it seems completely crazy that calling the police is so dangerous that it's likened to attempted murder. Then again since you appear more interested in scoring points for your team (I assume you vote Republican based on your reflexive attack on Democrats), I should not be surprised that the prob

          • Nah. Not a Republican. Just a frustrated Democrat because spouting shit like how calling the police is so dangerous that it's likened to attempted murder is going to keep the Republicans winning. I look at you as part of the problem, not the solution.

            • I mean... It's not of odd the you see me as part of the problem as I'm an external observe with no particular horse in the race.

              And of course the swatter and people he was working for clearly also understand that calling the police in people is something that's high risk for the victims of the police. Otherwise, why can the police on someone? While I have many criticisms of my local force (the victim blaming arse holes known as the metropolitan police) swatting is not a thing because they won't charge in sp

              • So - you have zero first hand knowledge, and you blanket insult every police department and officer in the U.S.?

                It appears that you did not make a wise decision making a bold declaration about something you aren't well-learned in.

                I'd love for you to just stop talking shit about things you don't know, and having emotionally charged opinions about things that do not directly affect you.

                Well, that or go cliff diving in a quarry.
                A rock quarry.
                Alone; no one for miles in all directions.
                During February.
                In Alaska.
                N

        • No, because that hole is filled with money.

    • I'd like to know why "Reckless Endangerment" and "Depraved Indifference" weren't part of the charges, and kept as part of whatever deal his landshark negotiated.

    • The reason he couldn't be charged with attempted murder is because that would require that the prosecution claim the police are a deadly weapon, a danger to public health and safety, and neither the police nor prosecution want to provide potential future defendants with a court precedent characterizing the police as dangerous. Even if this was de facto attempted murder, no police force or DA wants to admit that possibility.

  • Did the SWAT team show up at his door by any chance?
  • With police being as trigger happy as they are, and with the times being at a flashpoint, SWATing people might be attempted murder.

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