Teenager gets 25-Life for "SWATTED"

[KingWein22]

So, we are aware of the stories about the SWAT coming to your home as a prank because of CS:GO. Well, according to the National Report, one teenager is convicted of two counts of domestic terrorism:

In a Louisiana courtroom today, 15-year-old Paul Horner broke down in tears after a judge found the young man guilty on two counts of domestic terrorism and was sentenced to twenty-five years to life in federal prison.
Horner is the first person in history to be charged with what is known as ?swatting?, a growing trend in which a person anonymously files a false police report, such as a murder or bomb threat, in hopes of provoking the police to raid an individual?s home or business. Prosecutors in the case proved that Horner called in multiple false threats against rival online gamers, resulting in SWAT team raids of their residence.

Spoiler: What is SWATTING?

?Swatting? is a new fad among gamers targeting those who ?livestream?, broadcasting themselves and their game play live over the Internet to fans and in-game rivals alike. If a gamer is able to ascertain the personal information of a rival, by locating their IP and residential address, they will call in a dangerous threat to law enforcement and watch as the ?livestreamer?s? house is forcibly entered by police.

The practice of ?SWATTING? was recently brought to national attention by the YouTube video: The Creatures (Kootra) got SWAT Raided (SWATTED) #FreeKootra2014. Law Enforcement agencies say that the practice, which has been occurring with increasing frequency since 2013, wastes valuable resources and places innocent people in harm?s way.

Defense lawyers told the courtroom that Horner, who goes by the gamertag BadAssDwg69, was upset after being repeatedly beaten by a fellow gamer at Battlefield 4. After obtaining the rival gamers information, prosecutors say Horner called police and reported a murder/hostage situation at the home. SWAT team then raided the house, shooting and critically injuring the ?Livestreamer?s? father in the process. Following an investigation of the incident, Horner was charged as an adult, using provisions of the 2001 Patriot Act. Horner?s guilty charge stems from two counts of domestic terrorism, related to his manipulation of an enforcement response, and injuries to innocents resulting from those actions.
Prosecutors played audio of Horner?s 911 phone call to the jury:
?I just shot and killed four people. If any police enter my home I will kill them too,? the statement read in part.
During closing arguments, prosecuting attorney Tom Downey explained the state?s assessment of Horner to the jury.
?There were no victims or any evidence that a shooting had taken place,? Downey said. ?Horner?s actions are pure evil, he is a menace to society and must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.?

Hopefully, this will send a message about future SWATTING incidents.

What is your opinion on the matter?


Source: National Report [http://nationalreport.net/15-year-old-swatted-domestic-terrorism/]

 

[tippy2k2]

The same thing that was said in the same thread a few hours ago

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.859372-15-year-old-Swatter-convicted

It's a fake website like The Onion.

 

[Treeinthewoods]

I am torn. Part of me is happy that the courts are coming down very hard on individuals who swat people, it's a massive waste of police time and funding as well as extremely dangerous for the victims of the "prank." The example here where the victims father was almost killed shows exactly how bad something like this can end up.

On the other hand, a fifteen year old getting 25 to life just makes me feel sad. I am not sure what other punishment is going to fit the nature of his crime but that is just... sad. That kids life is basically over before it really even began.

Edit: Fake? That's the least funny joke article I have ever read. Oh well, at least I found another fake news site for after I read through the Onion.

 

[Ylla]

Put them on a catapult and throw them into a wall, put it on TV, that's all i ask.
Call it, "swatting the swatters".

 

[RJ 17]

The same thing that was said in the same thread a few hours ago

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.859372-15-year-old-Swatter-convicted

It's a fake website like The Onion.

Yeah, that doesn't stop me from thinking that such a punishment would be perfectly fitting should any of these little pricks actually get caught.

 

[Smooth Operator]

That is a joke site.
But the man in the picture (don't remember if the name is legit) was actually 15 and got a very severe sentence after he battered a baby to death.

 

[EternallyBored]

The same thing that was said in the same thread a few hours ago

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.859372-15-year-old-Swatter-convicted

It's a fake website like The Onion.

Yeah, that doesn't stop me from thinking that such a punishment would be perfectly fitting should any of these little pricks actually get caught.

A couple have been caught, one Canadian guy who made over 30 SWAT calls across North America was sentenced to 15 years. Others face various jail times, although they are the ones who messed up or didn't hide their tracks well, catching the smarter ones will likely be a lot harder.

 

[RJ 17]

A couple have been caught, one Canadian guy who made over 30 SWAT calls across North America was sentenced to 15 years. Others face various jail times, although they are the ones who messed up or didn't hide their tracks well, catching the smarter ones will likely be a lot harder.

Ahhhh, well I do feel better knowing that a few of these jackasses have been caught and punished. Seriously, I don't know who the hell came up with this crap, but it is ridiculously not funny.

 

[EternallyBored]

A couple have been caught, one Canadian guy who made over 30 SWAT calls across North America was sentenced to 15 years. Others face various jail times, although they are the ones who messed up or didn't hide their tracks well, catching the smarter ones will likely be a lot harder.

Ahhhh, well I do feel better knowing that a few of these jackasses have been caught and punished. Seriously, I don't know who the hell came up with this crap, but it is ridiculously not funny.

This is probably my favorite video on the subject, and goes into Swatting outside just gamers and livestreamers, as well as talking about police militarization and a little about how the government is starting to respond to the issue.



It's an interesting phenomenon that pits modern technology against an increasingly better armed police force, and will likely end in tragedy for some of the victims before everything is said and done.

 

[RJ 17]

It's an interesting phenomenon that pits modern technology against an increasingly better armed police force, and will likely end in tragedy for some of the victims before everything is said and done.

What's sad is that you can easily believe the story in the OP is true if you don't know that it comes from a fake news site. Wouldn't surprise me at all if I heard about how one of the swatting raids ended with some innocents getting shot.

 

[veloper]

25 years is a bit extreme. These aren't pranks anymore, but the kid didn't murder somebody.

 

[leberkaese]

I thought that this was fake... after all he did this prank a few days ago. I wondered, if the US law is really that fast

But that kid deserves a few years in jail. This is highly dangerous and more than a prank call most of us probably did as kids. Even if you're 10 or 12 you should understand that this is highly dangerous and the person being swatted could've died. Not to mention how expensive such an invasion is.

 

[Sea Sponge]

25 years is a bit extreme. These aren't pranks anymore, but the kid didn't murder somebody.

Actually he did.

The "swatter" story is fake but the person named, Paul Horner, is being jailed for beating his girlfriends son to death.

 

[bjj hero]

Well thats a cheerful prank. Making light using death from domestic violence for material. I hope the victims family dont find out. It shows a real lack of class.

 

[Sea Sponge]

Well thats a cheerful prank. Making light using death from domestic violence for material. I hope the victims family dont find out. It shows a real lack of class.

I'm going to have to agree with you here.

I'm all for satire websites and humorous posts but taking an actual story about someone beating a toddler to death and using it for a bit of a joke does piss me off a little bit.

 

[zarguhl]

So just to be clear, you're living in a country where a phone call from a 15 year old kid can bring down a paramilitary force to raid innocent individuals in their homes, injure civilians and possibly even kill people; and your problem is that the kid is making the calls, or that he gets 25 years for it?

A 15 YEAR OLD KID MADE A PRANK CALL AND YOU SENT IN THE ARMED FORCES!!!

Edit:
Wait a minute, I live in Australia... If I call the US, do you reckon I could get an air-strike on the local council that gave me a parking fine? I hear they are totally terrorists...

 

[lachlan4567]

So just to be clear, you're living in a country where a phone call from a 15 year old kid can bring down a paramilitary force to raid innocent individuals in their homes, injure civilians and possibly even kill people; and your problem is that the kid is making the calls, or that he gets 25 years for it?

A 15 YEAR OLD KID MADE A PRANK CALL AND YOU SENT IN THE ARMED FORCES!!!

Edit:
Wait a minute, I live in Australia... If I call the US, do you reckon I could get an air-strike on the local council that gave me a parking fine? I hear they are totally terrorists...

I second this, I once got a fine in the city, that was given to me while I was at the ticket machine, like within under 45 seconds they had digitally marked the car and sent a letter, only thing is, letter never arrived so a reminder came soon after with an extra $50 tacked onto it, so go ahead, order as many airstrikes as you want.

Whereas here in Australia I could see 1 maybe 2 police officers knocking on the door asking if there is any trouble, and mentioning that someone made a report.

 

[Whateveralot]

Please, OP, add the fact that this is a fake message into the post, because I don't think we're here for fake news.

 

[verdant monkai]

The american enforcement services are insane. Shooting someone's Dad like that.

I hope"BadAssDwg69" gets what is coming to him. I wonder if he will survive in prison. From what I've seen of louis theroux's weird weekends, the American prison system is just as brutal as their swat teams.

 

[EternallyBored]

So just to be clear, you're living in a country where a phone call from a 15 year old kid can bring down a paramilitary force to raid innocent individuals in their homes, injure civilians and possibly even kill people; and your problem is that the kid is making the calls, or that he gets 25 years for it?

A 15 YEAR OLD KID MADE A PRANK CALL AND YOU SENT IN THE ARMED FORCES!!!

Edit:
Wait a minute, I live in Australia... If I call the US, do you reckon I could get an air-strike on the local council that gave me a parking fine? I hear they are totally terrorists...

First of all, this particular story is fake it never happened.

As for SWATting in general, I won't defend the militarization of American police forces, some departments are much better than others, but there is still way too much military gear falling into the hands of police departments, rural Georgia towns do not need armored APCs with tracks, or armored trucks with turret mounts that just have the machine guns missing.

That said, these guys who do the SWATting manage to get such a response because they report things like an active shooter on the premises, bomb threats, dead bodies, hostages, and make active threats of being armed and willing to shoot any police officer that shows up. They provoke the response by reporting an extreme situation where people are dying or have already died, and generally play up the situation as another mass shooting event like the real ones that have put a lot of the country and law enforcement on edge.

So yeah, there are some police departments that need to be less gung-ho with their SWAT teams, but these pranksters are deliberately crafting extreme scenarios to try and provoke the largest response they can.