A Lancaster teenager pleaded guilty to making hundreds of false telephone threats of imminent bombings, mass shootings and violence, targeting locations across the United States, including houses of worship and schools.
Alan W. Filion, 18, pleaded guilty to four counts of making interstate threats to injure persons.
From August 2022 to January 2024, Filion made more than 375 deceptive and threatening calls, including calls in which he claimed to have planted bombs, threatened to detonate bombs or to carry out mass shootings at specific locations, according to the US Department of Justice. USA.
Swating occurs when someone reports a false crime or emergency at a specific location to provoke an aggressive response from authorities, often by a SWAT team. According to federal officials, Filion's intention was to provoke a large-scale deployment of police units and emergency services to specific locations.
Filion, who was 16 when he made most of the calls, targeted religious institutions, high schools, colleges and universities, as well as government officials and numerous individuals across the country.
When making a “tap” call at a specific location, Filion would call emergency services and provide them with false information about the placement of dangerous explosives, telling authorities that he and others had firearms and explosives, and that he or other persons had committed or intended to commit imminently violent crimes.
In an online post, Filion stated that when he makes a “swipe” call he “usually gets[s] the police to remove the victim and their families from the house, handcuff them and search the house for bodies.”
“Crushing poses a serious danger 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 fake calls into a business and made posts on social media, advertising his services and fee-for-fee structure.
It is unclear if he was ever paid to make a fake call or if he had clients.
Filion was arrested in January in California on Florida state charges stemming from a threat he made in May 2023 to carry out a mass shooting at Masjid Al Hayy, a mosque in Sanford, Florida.
In his call to authorities about the mosque, he claimed he had an illegally modified AR-15, a Glock 17 pistol, pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails. During the call he played audio of gunshots in the background, according to Florida prosecutors.
Filion has remained in custody since his arrest on state charges. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison on each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Filion also pleaded guilty to making three other threatening calls, according to the Justice Department. In October 2022, a call was made to a public high school in Washington, in which he threatened to commit a mass shooting and claimed to have planted bombs throughout the school, authorities said.
In May 2023, another call was made to a black college in Florida, in which he claimed to have placed bombs on the walls and ceilings of campus housing and threatened to detonate them within about an hour.
The third call occurred in July 2023 and was made to a local police department dispatch number in Texas, in which he falsely identified himself as a senior federal law enforcement officer, provided the officer's home address to the dispatcher. and claimed to have killed the officer's mother. and threatened to kill police officers who responded.
“He caused profound fear and chaos and will now face the consequences of his actions,” said Lisa Monaco, deputy attorney general.
