Washington man convicted of 20 false threat calls in US and Canada

A Washington state man who made 20 false reports of bombings and shootings in the United States and Canada, triggering real emergency responses, has been sentenced to three years in prison, announced the American authorities.

Ashton Connor Garcia, 21, of Bremerton, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington. Garcia pleaded guilty in January to two counts of extortion and two counts of threats and hoaxes involving explosives.

As part of his plea agreement, Garcia admitted that he intended for these calls to cause the deployment of SWAT teams, bomb squads and other law enforcement to the targeted locations.

Garcia used voice-over-internet technology to conceal his identity when he made so-called swat calls between June 2022 and March 2023 and also broadcast them on a social media platform, according to federal prosecutors.

In two of the cases, he called in false bomb threats for the Fox News Channel in Cleveland and for a flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles. In another case, he threatened to bomb a Los Angeles airport unless he received $200,000 in Bitcoin, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said he collected personal information from several victims and threatened to send emergency responders to their homes unless they handed over money, credit card information or images sexually explicit.

Law enforcement entered some homes with guns drawn and arrested people, authorities said.

The plea agreement details 20 different false emergency reports targeting victims in California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington and Edmonton, Alberta, according to prosecutors.

Garcia's arrest came amid a wave of threats and false reports of shooters at schools and colleges across the country. Another wave of fake calls, mostly targeting public officials, occurred early this year and late last year.

Some swatting incidents have led to police shooting people, and officials also say they fear diverting resources intended for real emergencies.