A California teenager has been sentenced to four years in federal prison after carrying out a nationwide swatting spree that terrorized schools, religious institutions, and individuals across the U.S.
375 Swatting Calls Over 18 Months
Alan W. Filion, 18, of Lancaster, California, pleaded guilty to making interstate threats after orchestrating over 375 swatting calls between August 2022 and January 2024. His threats included bomb scares, mass shooting threats, and hoax emergency calls, forcing law enforcement to respond to false crises.
Filion targeted high schools, universities, religious institutions, government officials, and private citizens, deliberately triggering large-scale police deployments. His calls often led to heavily armed officers storming homes, detaining innocent people, and diverting emergency resources away from real incidents.
Swatting for Profit and Entertainment
Filion didn’t just swat for amusement—he turned it into a business. In January 2023, he bragged online about monetizing his swatting services, offering to place fake emergency calls for a fee. He even detailed his success in getting SWAT teams to enter homes, detain victims, and search for nonexistent crimes.
Escalating Threats and Arrest
His threats became increasingly violent and specific. In May 2023, he called a religious institution in Florida, claiming to be armed with an illegally modified AR-15, a Glock 17 pistol, pipe bombs, and Molotov cocktails, and stated he was about to “kill everyone” he saw. He was arrested in January 2024 on state charges related to that threat and later pleaded guilty in federal court.
Other hoax calls linked to Filion include:
- October 2022 – Called a high school in Washington, claiming he had planted bombs and planned a mass shooting.
- May 2023 – Called a Historically Black College in Florida, falsely claiming bombs were hidden in student housing.
- July 2023 – Called a police department in Texas, impersonating a federal law enforcement officer and falsely reporting a murder at the officer’s home.
Sentenced to 48 Months in Federal Prison
Filion’s actions resulted in wasted law enforcement resources, traumatized victims, and dangerously escalated situations. He was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison, marking a significant case in the growing crackdown on swatting and cyber-enabled threats.
Law enforcement agencies continue to warn that swatting is not a harmless prank—it’s a federal crime with real-world consequences
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
