In one of the most prolific “swatting” cases ever prosecuted, a teenage “serial swatter” on Wednesday accused schools, religious institutions, and government officials of committing mass shootings across the United States. Pleaded guilty to making fabricated threats in connection with the bombing.
Alan Fillion, 18, of Lancaster, California, pleaded guilty to four counts of interstate menacing, according to the Department of Justice. Federal prosecutors said Fillion could face up to five years in prison on each charge.
Officials said Filion made more than 375 swatting and threatening phone calls between August 2022 and January, including in which he claimed to have planted a bomb or threatened to detonate it. The calls included people threatening to commit mass shootings.
He became a “serial swatter” who made false accusations and rushed law enforcement officers to the scene for profit and entertainment, according to court documents. Prosecutors said the suspect turned swatting into a business by advertising his swatting services for a fee on social media.
Authorities said he worked on hundreds of swatting cases across the country, including Maryland, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Washington and Texas.
Prosecutors said Filion was 16 when he made most of the calls to high schools, universities, government officials, religious institutions and the homes of FBI agents.
“He has caused deep fear and confusion,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.
Mr. Filion’s attorneys, whose names are listed in court records, could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Filion was extradited from California to Florida in January 2023 after attacking a mosque in Sanford, Florida, months earlier. Prosecutors said Filion targeted the Masjid Al-Khai Mosque and threatened to carry out a shooting spree. The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and FBI tracked postings on Telegram, a swatting service, and recordings of swatting calls.
In the Sanford incident, prosecutors said Filion was in possession of an illegally modified AR-15, a Glock 17 pistol, a pipe bomb and a Molotov cocktail. He said he intended to “go on a mass shooting spree” and “kill everyone” on an imminent basis, prosecutors said.
“He said in an online post on January 19, 2023 that the ‘first’ swatting was like ‘two to three years ago’ and that ‘six to nine months ago (he) decided to turn it into a business. ”, the prosecutor said. Filion said, noting a social media post promoting his services.
