FBI: Columbus man wanted in nationwide 'swatting' investigation involving false threats
An 18-year-old Columbus man is wanted on federal charges that accuse him of participating in an online “swatting” group that the FBI said is responsible for reporting false threats to law enforcement across the country.
Brayden Grace was indicted Tuesday along with several others in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on charges of conspiracy, cyberstalking, interstate threatening communications, and threats to damage or destroy by means of fire and explosives.
Two others — Owen Jarboe, 18, of Hagerstown, Maryland, and Evan Strauss, 26, of Moneta, Virginia — also face similar charges.
Three more juveniles are charged as part of the indictment. Two of them are residents of Massachusetts and one lives in North Carolina.
The suspected threats tied to the three men and three juveniles charged in the indictment include:
a threat to burn down a residential trailer park in Alabama
a shooting threat against a teacher and unnamed students at a high school in Delaware
a shooting and bomb threat to the Albany International Airport in New York
a shooting and bomb threat against Hollywood Casino Columbus
a false report of multiple homicides and a shooting threat against individuals in a residence in Eastman, Georgia.
Two of the juvenile conspirators called the Columbus police on Jan. 5 and threatened to blow up or shoot up Hollywood Casino Columbus unless authorities delivered $100,000 in cash and a helicopter to the casino, according to federal authorities.
What is swatting?
Swatting is a prank in which someone makes a hoax phone call to an emergency number to get heavily armed law enforcement dispatched to another location, such as a school, home, shopping mall, or airport. The pranks often involve fake bomb threats, hostage situations and terrorism activities.
While the FBI has been aware of the phenomenon since at least 2008, when it released guidance on "The New Phenomenon of 'Swatting'," the practice gained more widespread notoriety within online gaming communities.
Swatting usually occurs using fake phone numbers, online messages, spoofing, hacking, and social engineering tactics. It is important to be aware of the seriousness and potential consequences of swatting and to discourage this dangerous behavior.
How did swatting group carry out suspected crimes?
The group was active from Dec. 10, 2023, until Jan. 18, the FBI said in a statement. The six maintained a public Telegram page where they would take credit for swatting attacks and advertise their swatting services, according to court records.
The group used TextNow and Google Voice to disguise their numbers when they made calls, and in a group chat, they shared “scripts” for the calls and discussed ways to trigger the largest possible police response, court records say.
The three adults could face up to five years in federal prison for each count of conspiracy, cyberstalking and interstate threat and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on each charge to damage or destroy by means of fire and explosives.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus man wanted by FBI accused of participating in swatting ring
