Ashton Connor Garcia, a 21-year-old man from Bremerton, Washington, has been sentenced to three years in prison for making 20 false reports of bombs and shootings across the U.S. and Canada. Garcia pleaded guilty to two counts of extortion and two counts of threats and hoaxes regarding explosives. He admitted that he intended for these calls to trigger responses from SWAT teams, bomb squads, and other law enforcement agencies. Garcia used voice-over-internet technology to disguise his identity and broadcasted the calls on a social media platform.
Garcia targeted various locations between June 2022 and March 2023, including the Fox News station in Cleveland and a flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles. He even threatened to bomb an airport in Los Angeles unless he received $200,000 in Bitcoin. Additionally, Garcia collected personal information about multiple victims and used it to extort money, credit card information, or sexually explicit images from them. Law enforcement responded to these false reports, entering homes with guns drawn and detaining residents, causing significant distress and disruption.
The plea agreement outlined 20 different incidents of false emergency reports targeting individuals in California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, and Edmonton, Alberta. Garcia’s arrest came amidst a period of increased threats and false reports of shooters in schools and colleges nationwide. Authorities expressed concerns about the dangers of swatting incidents, with some cases resulting in police shooting innocent individuals and the diversion of resources from actual emergencies.
This surge in false reporting calls, particularly targeting public officials, raised alarm among law enforcement agencies about the potential risks and consequences of swatting. Prosecutors highlighted the use of technology by perpetrators like Garcia to manipulate emergency services and instigate dangerous situations. The malicious intent behind these false reports, which induced real emergency responses and endangered innocent lives, emphasized the harm that can result from such actions.
Garcia’s criminal activities not only disrupted the lives of his victims but also jeopardized the safety of communities and strained law enforcement resources. The case serves as a cautionary tale about the serious implications of making false reports to emergency services and the criminal consequences that can follow. As swatting incidents continue to pose a threat to public safety, authorities remain vigilant in combatting this dangerous trend and protecting the public from the harmful effects of such hoaxes.
