Three young Brits are accused of stateside swatting offences and will appear in a UK court today to face their charges after a joint investigation by the FBI and Merseyside cops.
Liam White, 22; Dylan Ash, 18; and Keiron Ellison, 18 were charged by the Crown Prosecution Service this week for perverting the course of justice – the most applicable law the UK has for swatting in lieu of a dedicated piece of legislation for the matter. White and Ash face three counts, while Ellison faces two.
The trio, from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset; Warrington, Cheshire; and St Helens, Merseyside respectively, are alleged to have made various swatting calls in the US and Canada between October 2022 and April 2023.
All three face one charge related to calls made in Canada and another charge related to calls in the US. White and Ash both face a further charge related to calls in the US.
“The charges are the culmination of an extensive investigation by Merseyside Police working with US law enforcement, including the FBI,” said Steve Frame, detective sergeant at Merseyside Police.
“They relate to the online activities of an internet-based group between October 2022 and April 2023, which planned, advertised, and carried out calls to emergency services and internet celebrities reporting fabricated serious, life-threatening incidents, ‘active shooter threats’ to prompt an emergency response.”
The charges in the UK follow an increase in swatting offences in the US, especially those with a political motivation, on which the FBI recently vowed to crack down.
A public awareness campaign was launched by the FBI this week urging the general public to swot up on swattings in case they ever have the misfortune of being on the receiving end of one.
Seen by some as a funny prank, in reality these dead-serious calls can lead to law enforcement officials shooting innocent people.
The first swatting-related killing came in 2017 when father-of-two Andrew Finch was shot and killed by armed police officers in Wichita, Kansas in the US. Finch reportedly lowered his hands slightly at one point during an exchange with officers, which was misinterpreted and led to officers shooting the man.
Finch was an innocent man and was swatted after two men placing $1.50 bets over their Call of Duty game decided to swat the loser, who gave his previous address.
Tyler Bariss made the call and two years later was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Swatting calls typically involve hoaxers falsely reporting events such as shootings and sights of bombs in people’s residences – anything to trigger massive emergency and armed responses from local authorities.
Recent swattings have targeted US politicians, government chiefs, conservative commentators, and the relatives of a murdered teenage athlete from Texas.
Internet personalities such as streamers are also typically among the most targeted by swattings. Calls are often made by their viewers, who are able to see the armed house raid unfold in real time.
Unlike in the US, there is no specific swatting legislation in the UK, and typically offenders are charged with perverting the course of justice.
That was the case with Robert Walker-McDaid, from Coventry, England, who was spared prison time last year after being asked to swat an American man from Maryland, Tyran Dobbs, whom he did not know, by an online gaming friend.
Walker-McDaid claimed to be Dobbs when he made a call to a Maryland terrorism hotline, claiming he was harboring explosives and keeping hostages.
Authorities rushed to Dobbs’ residence and shot the man in the face with rubber bullets, leaving him with life-changing injuries.
Walker-McDaid admitted to perverting the course of justice and was sentenced to 20 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, in April 2024. It was the UK’s first conviction in a swatting case.
The FBI’s advice for those who find themselves in a swatting scenario is to comply fully with officers on the scene, who will be able to verify the call was a hoax. ®
