Fayette County Man Pleads Guilty To Making Hoax Emergency Calls
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A man from Dunbar, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of interstate threats.
Nicholas Huffine, 20-years-old, pleaded guilty to one count of interstate threats where he engaged in a practice known as "swatting."
This is a prank in which Huffine along with others made false emergency calls to the Winter Garden Police Department in Florida. Huffine and others claimed an ongoing, dangerous crime was in progress in order to send an armed police response, including SWAT teams, to a specific location just to harass someone.
"Swatting is terrifying to victims, as well as highly dangerous as law enforcement agents operate under the belief that they are responding to the scene of active and ongoing violent criminal activity," said U.S. Attorney Scott Brady.
Huffine will be sentenced in January 2020 and is facing a sentence of five years in prison and/or fines of up to $250,000.