Alan Filion made a brief appearance before a Seminole County judge on Wednesday. The incident was targeted at the Masjid Al Hayy Mosque in Sanford.
After saying, “I’m going to commit a mass shooting in the name of Satan,” on a call to 911 in May 2023, the 17-year-old Californian is charged with three felonies and one misdemeanor.
According to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, Filion falsely claimed to possess explosive devices and played a recording of gunfire during a 911 call. Approximately 30 law enforcement officers responded to the mosque, only to discover that the entire incident was a fabrication.
The arrest affidavit for the teenager reveals that since 2021, Filion has been offering his services for swatting calls, proposing to make false emergency calls for money across the country. Investigators found an online post attributed to Filion, where he offered to make 911 calls about gas leaks or fires for $40 and to issue mass shooting or bomb threats for $75.
Court documents further state that Filion has been involved in swatting attacks on high schools, historically black colleges, FBI buildings, and has threatened to bomb military bases, the Pentagon, and other targets.
The Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act was proposed by Senator Rick Scott earlier this month. It says the individual who reports a swatting attack might go to jail for up to 20 years if the victim is gravely wounded.
Senator Scott explained his bill, saying,” 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 has personally experienced a swatting call. According to him, the caller wants to hurt others.
“They want people to get injured,” the Florida Senator stated. “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.”
Prosecutors claim that Filion is being tried as an adult and is being detained without bond because “there are no conditions of release reasonable sufficient to protect the community from risk of harm.”
Regarding the swatting episodes for which Filion is charged in other states, each jurisdiction would prosecute such cases locally.
On March 19, Filion is scheduled to appear in court again for his arraignment in Seminole County.
