Federal prosecutors have won a three-year prison sentence against a social media “swatter” who gained internet fame by broadcasting himself as he made bogus police reports, tricking departments into sending SWAT teams to terrorize innocent people.

Ashton Connor Garcia, 21, attempted at least 20 swattings. Among his targets were an 8-year-old boy, a teacher who had survived a school shooting and a teen he had ordered to carve herself, demanded she make a sexual video and then retaliated when she ignored him.

The conviction and prison sentence mark a relatively rare win at the federal level. Swatters regularly brag about their ability to get away with their crimes. Prosecutors and the judge in the case said they hoped Garcia’s prison sentence would send a message that they could reach perpetrators.

“Swatting is cruel. It is uncivilized. It is the willful terrorizing of other human beings,” U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle said last week.

Garcia admitted to at least 20 swatting attempts in the U.S. and Canada from June 2022 through March 2023.

He gleefully taunted police, who responded and bragged online about making a detective’s life “a living hell.”

In one of Garcia’s attempts, he told police in Edmonton, Alberta, that he had shot his mother and would shoot any officers who responded. Police sent 20 officers and seven civilians at night to the home of an 8-year-old boy and his mother.

He ordered a 14-year-old girl in New Jersey to cut herself with his “fan sign” and then demanded she “play with your [breasts]” on camera or “get swatted and terrorized for what will seem like an eternity.” She refused his orders, and he sent police to her neighborhood and placed a nearby elementary school in lockdown.

He said he once swatted a neighbor for “giggles” and watched out his window as cops responded.

A detective in Pennsylvania identified him in connection with a 2022 swatting call and contacted Garcia’s parents and, later, Garcia himself.

Garcia claimed remorse but soon afterward swatted a woman who had survived a school shooting as a teacher.

“Garcia treated their trauma like sport,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica M. Manca told the judge.

Swatting comes from the Special Weapons and Tactics teams that police departments use in what they perceive to be dangerous cases, such as active shooters or hostage situations.

Officers go in with guns drawn, terrifying the targets and sometimes creating dangerous situations.

Police say they have a duty to respond to the calls.

“These types of calls are very difficult to investigate because the investigation doesn’t happen until law enforcement has responded, found the incident is not real, then the investigation can occur. So it takes a while for all of that to get run down,” said April Heinze at NENA: The 9-1-1 Association, a nonprofit group focusing on 911 operations.

She said the calls usually don’t come into a 911 line but are made to a 10-digit nonemergency number. That can put them outside the reach of state laws criminalizing false 911 calls.

Swatters have myriad motivations. Some try to extort money, and others do it for “fun.” Swatting is also used as a political tool.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, has been the target of multiple swatting attempts, including one this Christmas. Jack Smith, the federal prosecutor pursuing former President Donald Trump, was also swatted on Christmas. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing one of Mr. Trump’s federal trials, was swatted in January.

Ms. Heinze said swatting is gaining interest, particularly in “the current political environment.”

She said the District of Columbia has recorded more than 300 swatting incidents this year.

“That is a huge number,” she said.

Garcia’s motivations appear to have been fun and perhaps money.

In Discord server messages shown to the court, Garcia’s account talked about using swatting as a way of pressuring a 12-year-old girl.

Prosecutors said Garcia and others involved in the attempt claimed they had “nudes” of the girl and would release them — and swat her — if she didn’t send photos of her parents’ credit cards.

“Let’s get her to send pictures of all her parents credit card info ‘or we swat.’ After we get it — swat,” said Garcia, using account A1FA#9375.

In a letter to the court, Ivan and Crystal Garcia insisted that their son was a “good kid” who made mistakes.

He struggled in school, so the parents pulled him out for online homeschooling. That helped fuel his interest in computers and cybersecurity.

“He is a good person and means well, and has always helped people in need,” the parents said. “If Ashton was to go back and change things I’m sure he would have without a doubt. He is not whom the media portrays him to be. … He is not a monster, he is good son whom loves his parents, loves his pets, and would definitely change his life around if he had a second chance.”

David Shapiro, a lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said tech-savvy people are responsible for much of the swatting.

“You have a universe of disgruntled ex-tech workers with lots of skill, lots of knowledge. So you’ve created a subculture that can innovate and attack against another subculture,” he said.

Mr. Shapiro said the FBI did not begin tracking swatting cases until last year, so finding trends is tough. He said cybercrime is up overall.

Prosecutions can be difficult because of the time and resources necessary to track down swatters, who often take pains to hide their identities.

Garcia bragged in Instagram messages that they wouldn’t bother to track him down because “they can’t without spending millions.”

Prosecutors had sought a four-year sentence for Garcia.

The judge handed down a three-year sentence.

Mr. Shapiro said Garcia was a first-time convict.

“The law cannot impose punishment harshly, especially here where there was no tangible harm,” he said.

He said Congress could amend the federal wire fraud statute to clarify that it covers this type of cybercrime to increase the penalty and encourage prosecutors to bring more cases.

“This is fraud using modern tech. Kids made prank phone calls decades ago. Now they can get more serious deadly kicks from this fraud,” Mr. Shapiro said.

Garcia pleaded guilty to two counts of extortion and two counts of threats and hoaxes regarding explosives.

Ms. Heinze, at NENA, said legislation is needed to clarify the penalties for swatting.

“It’s likened to, in my opinion, a terrorist attack. They are terrorizing unsuspecting citizens who have no idea that a call has been placed,” she said.

• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.