The other day, I was having a conversation with colleagues about the people who cause swatting attacks on other people’s streams. I hate to make this personal, but one thing that was said to me was very apt.
“I don’t think that these swatters are adults who have been gaming all their life. I think they are kids. I think they are young punks who are drunk off their own anonymity and power over other people’s lives and they aren’t thinking of the consequences. These kids are going to get someone killed, end up in jail, or both.”
I didn’t believe it at the time, but this news story has swayed my opinion.
Brandon Wilson, a ninteen-year-old also known as Famed God in some online communities, was arrested in Las Vegas last Thursday. He faces up to five years in jail for a fake call to the Chicago police that caused them to raid an innocent man’s house. His computer equipment has been seized by the police and evidence was found on it not only of this one swatting incident, but of other incidents across the country. Wilson is currently awaiting extradition to Illinois.
This has caused somewhat of a controversy in the gaming community. Some people think that five years in jail is too much for a prank. Some think it’s not enough considering the dangerous nature of the prank. What do you think? Is five years in jail a good sentence for a swatter? Nineteen-year-olds aren’t quite kids, but are still very young. Let us know in the comments.
Source: Ars Technica