Teen Behind Hundreds of Swatting Attacks Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges

In the largest case ever prosecuted, an 18-year-old from Lancaster, California, has pleaded guilty to charges from across the country of hundreds of hoax shootings and bomb threats that sent police to high schools, in court. , and the homes of law enforcement officers.

Alan Winston Filion now faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison on each of four counts of making threats to harm another person, according to the United States Department of Justice.

Earlier this year, Filion was arrested and extradited to Seminole County, Florida. At the time, federal prosecutors charged Filion with four federal felony counts stemming from a single incident in which, prosecutors say, Filion told a Sanford Police Department dispatcher that he was armed with hand grenades and an AR-15 rifle and was walking in. Masjid Al Hayy Mosque to kill everyone who sees it.

Filion, who authorities believe operates online as “Torswats,” has been in jail for a year without trial. He later pleaded guilty to federal charges.

The federal charges announced Wednesday, along with interviews with people connected to the investigation — as well as Filion himself — say his shooting activities reached far beyond Florida’s borders.

According to the plea agreement, between August 2022 and January 2024 Filion made more than 375 calls. These include incidents where he has claimed to have planted bombs or threatened to shoot more people at targets including religious institutions, high schools, and historically black colleges and universities.

“This prosecution and today’s guilty plea reaffirms the Department of Justice’s commitment to using all tools to hold accountable anyone who puts our communities at risk with false threats,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement. “For over a year, Alan Filion has targeted religious institutions, schools, government officials, and other innocent victims with hundreds of false threats of mass shootings, bombings, and other violent crimes. He caused a lot of fear and chaos and now he will face the consequences of his actions.”

The case against Filion, first reported by WIRED, was built on a trail of digital evidence left across forums like Telegram, YouTube, and Discord, and was compiled by Brad “Cafrozed” Dennis, a private investigator. Dennis was hired by two Twitch stars, both victims of Torswats’ calls, to find the person responsible.