ORLANDO, Fla. — Alan Filion, an 18-year-old from California, has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for making over 375 swatting and threat calls across the country, including Florida.
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According to the United States Attorney’s Office, the plea agreement states that from Aug. 2022 to Jan. 2024, Filion made over 375 calls. He would make bomb and mass shooting threats targeting religious institutions, schools, and government officials.
Filion “intended his calls to cause large-scale deployment of police and emergency services units to the targeted locations,” a news release stated
On several occasions. Filion advertised his swatting services on social media in an attempt to make a profit.
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On Jan. 18, 2024, Filion was arrested in California on Florida state charges. These charges stemmed from Filion threatening to commit a mass shooting at a religious institution in Sanford, Florida in May 2023, according to the United States Attorney’s Office. He later pled guilty in federal court to making the threat.
Filion also pled guilty to making three other threatening calls, one of which also happened in Florida.
According to the news release, Filion called a historically Black college and university in the Northern District of Florida in May 2023. He claimed to have placed bombs in the walls and ceilings of campus housing that would soon detonate.
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