An 18-year-old from Lancaster pleaded guilty Wednesday to making hundreds of phone calls targeting locations across the country, including places of worship and schools, with false threats of impending bombings, mass shootings and violence.
Alan W. Filion pleaded guilty to four counts of interstate threats to injure another person, federal authorities said.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, from August 2022 to January 2024, Fillion made more than 375 “swatting” and threatening hoax calls, including detonating bombs at targeted locations. The phone calls included threats to harass or commit mass shootings.
Swatting occurs when a false crime or emergency is reported in a specific location, triggering an aggressive law enforcement response, often by SWAT teams. Federal officials said Filion’s intention was to deploy a large number of police and emergency services forces to the targeted locations.
Filion was 16 years old when he made the majority of the calls and targeted religious institutions, high schools, universities, government officials, and numerous individuals across the country.
After making a swatting call to the target location, Filion called emergency responders and gave false information that he had placed a dangerous explosive device, telling authorities that he or others had placed a firearm or explosive device there. that he or another person has committed or intends to commit the act; commit an imminent heinous crime.
In an online post, Filion said that making “swatting” calls “usually[s] Police drag the victims and their families out of the house, handcuff them, and search the house for bodies. ”
“Swatting poses significant risks to first responders and victims, wastes significant time and resources, and creates fear in communities,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate.
In 2023, Filion attempted to turn the hoax call into a business by posting on social media promoting his company’s services and paid swatting structure.
It’s unclear if he was ever paid to make the hoax calls or if he had any clients.
Fillion was arrested in California in January on Florida charges stemming from his threat to carry out a mass shooting at the Masjid Al-Khai mosque in Sanford, Florida, in May 2023.
In a call to authorities regarding the mosque, he claimed to be in possession of an illegally modified AR-15, a Glock 17 pistol, a pipe bomb, and a Molotov cocktail. Florida prosecutors said the man played gunshots in the background during the call.
Fillion has remained in custody since his arrest on state charges. He could face up to five years in prison on each charge. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
The Justice Department said Filion also pleaded guilty to three other counts of making threatening phone calls. Authorities say a caller received a call to a public high school in Washington in October 2022, threatening to carry out a mass shooting and claiming to have placed bombs throughout the school.
Another call came in from May 2023 at a majority-black university in Florida, alleging that a bomb had been placed in the walls and ceilings of a campus residence and was threatening to detonate within about an hour.
The third call occurred in July 2023 and was placed on the dispatch number of a local police department in Texas, falsely claiming to be a federal law enforcement officer, providing the dispatcher with the officer’s residential address, and calling the officer’s mother. claimed to have killed him. , and threatened to kill responding officers.
“He has caused deep fear and confusion and will now face the consequences of his actions,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
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