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Teen denied bond after alleged swat call
Alan Filion had a quick stop in front of a Seminole County judge on Wednesday. The 17-year-old California native is facing three felonies and a misdemeanor after authorities said he placed a call to 911 dispatchers in May 2023 threatening a mass shooting at mosque.
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - Alan Filion had a quick stop in front of a Seminole County judge on Wednesday.
The 17-year-old California native is facing three felonies and a misdemeanor after a call to 911 dispatchers in May 2023, where he stated, "I'm going to commit a mass shooting in the name of Satan."
It was directed at the Masjid Al Hayy Mosque in Sanford.
The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said Filion also claimed to have explosive devices and started playing a recording of gunfire in the background of the 911 call. Around 30 law enforcement officers showed up at the mosque, only to realize the whole thing had been a lie.
The teen’s arrest affidavit states that he has been offering to treat this like a job since 2021, offering to make swatting calls for money all over the country. Investigators captured an online post they said Filion made, offering to call 911 about a gas leak or fire for $40 or make a mass shooting or bomb threat for $75.
Court documents state that Filion has also called in swatting attacks on high schools, historically black colleges, and FBI buildings. They also claim he’s threatened to bomb military bases, the Pentagon, and more.
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Earlier this month, Senator Rick Scott introduced the Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act. It states that if someone gets seriously hurt in a swatting attack, the person who called it in could face up to 20 years in prison.
"Somebody could die, somebody’s terrorized, and it’s a waste of resources. So somebody else might not get taken care of because law enforcement is doing something over here," Senator Scott said of his bill.
Senator Scott has been a victim of a swatting call himself. He says the caller’s goal is to harm people.
"They want people to get injured," the Florida Senator told FOX 35 News. "So it's clearly a crime. And if somebody gets injured, you need to go to jail for a long period of time for doing this. It's evil."
Filion is being tried as an adult and held with no bond because prosecutors say, "There are no conditions of release reasonable sufficient to protect the community from risk of harm."
As for the swatting incidents Filion is accused of in other states, those would be prosecuted at the local level in each jurisdiction.
Filion will be back in court for his arraignment in Seminole County on March 19.