In perhaps the largest swatting case ever prosecuted, an 18-year-old man from Lancaster, California, has pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from a nationwide spree. Rumors of hundreds of shootings and bomb threats That sent police to high schools, courthouses and the homes of law enforcement officers.
Alan Winston Fillion now faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each of four counts of making interstate threats to injure another person. United States Department of Justice,
Earlier this year, Fillion was arrested and extradited For Seminole County, Florida. At that time, state prosecutors charged Fillion with four state-level felonies stemming from the same incident in which, prosecutors allege, Fillion told a Sanford Police Department dispatcher that he was armed with a pipe bomb and an AR-15 rifle. And was going inside. In the Masjid al-Hay mosque he killed everyone he saw.
Fillion, who authorities believe operates online as “Torsweats,” has been in prison without trial for nearly a year. He pleaded not guilty.
The federal charges announced Wednesday, as well as interviews with people close to the investigation and Fillion himself, allege that his swatting activities reached far beyond Florida's borders.
According to the plea agreement, Fillion made more than 375 swatting calls between approximately August 2022 and January 2024. These included incidents where he claimed to have threatened to plant bombs or carry out mass shootings at targeted locations, including religious institutions, high schools, and historically black colleges and universities.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement, “This prosecution and today's guilty plea reaffirm the Department of Justice's commitment to using all tools at its disposal to hold accountable those individuals who commit fraud and fraudulent threats to our communities. put us in danger through.” “For more than a year, Alan Fillion 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 created deep fear and chaos and now he must face the consequences of his actions.
The case against Filion, First reported by WIREDwas built on digital evidence trail were left on platforms such as Telegram, YouTube and Discord, and pieced together by Brad “Cafrozzed” Dennis, a private investigator. Dennis was hired by two high-profile Twitch stars, both victims of Torsweats calls, to track down the person responsible.