When he was 16 years old, Alan W. Filion (photos below), of Lancaster, California, made at least 375 swatting calls targeting “religious institutions, schools and universities, government officials, and other innocent victims.”
The malice of his swatting calls is illustrated by “a July 2023 call to a local police-department dispatch number in the Western District of Texas, in which he falsely identified himself as a senior federal law enforcement officer, provided the officer’s residential address to the dispatcher, claimed to have killed the federal officer’s mother, and threatened to kill any responding police officers.” (See story here.)
That’s the kind of playing around that gets innocent people killed. Filion even offered to sell his services; he would “swat” designated people for a fee.
Then he was caught, and on Wednesday, November 14, 2024, he pleaded guilty in a plea deal to four swatting incidents, including one involving a Washington State high school. Filion, now 18, faces up to 5 years in prison for each incident.
His felony conviction means he can never join the military, be a police officer, or hold any other job requiring a security clearance or background check. He can’t possess firearms, which means he can’t hunt. Ever. He’ll wear the scarlet letter of “convicted felon” for life. It’ll limit his marriage prospects. It probably wasn’t worth it.
