On November 9, he known as an area suicide prevention hotline in Skagit County and mentioned he was going to “shoot up the varsity” and had an AR-15 for the aim.
In April, he known as the native police division—twice—threatening college violence and demanding $1,000 in monero (a cryptocurrency) to make the threats cease.
In Could, he known as in threats to 20 extra public excessive colleges throughout the state of Washington, and he ended lots of the calls with “the sound of computerized gunfire.” Most of the colleges performed lockdowns in response.
To get a way of how disruptive this was, extrapolate this type of habits throughout the nation. Filion made related calls to Iowa excessive colleges, companies in Florida, spiritual establishments, historic black faculties and universities, personal residents, members of Congress, cabinet-level members of the chief department, heads of a number of federal regulation enforcement businesses, not less than one US senator, and “a former President of america.”
An incident report from Florida after Filion made a swatting name in opposition to a mosque there.
Who, me?
On July 15, 2023, the FBI truly searched Filion’s residence in Lancaster, California, and interviewed each Filion and his father. Filion professed complete bafflement about why they is perhaps there. Excessive colleges in Washington state? Filion replied that he “didn’t perceive what the brokers had been speaking about.”
His father, who seems to have been unaware of his son’s exercise, chimed in to level out that the household had truly been a current sufferer of swatting! (The self-swattings did twin responsibility right here, additionally serving to make Filion appear like a sufferer, not the ringleader.)
When the FBI brokers instructed the Filions that it was truly Alan who had made these calls on his personal deal with, Alan “falsely denied any involvement.”
Amazingly, when the feds left with the proof from their search, Alan returned to swatting. It was not till January 18, 2024, that he was finally arrested.
He finally pled responsible and signed a prolonged assertion outlining the crimes recounted above. Yesterday, he was sentenced to 48 months in federal jail.