A five-month investigation into a series of telephone calls to universities and individuals reporting hostages, kidnappings and planted bombs has resulted in the arrest of a Connecticut man on federal charges that could land him in prison time for decades. The complex investigation by the FBI and local law enforcement agencies involved tracing Skype telephone calls, collecting Tweets from several accounts and identify their authors, interviewing witnesses and connecting scores of “dots” to eventually point the finger at one suspect. The SWATing calls were part of an on-going series conducted by separate people and groups around the United States, and usually linked to on-line gaming, jealousy, revenge or just plain fun. In this case, the FBI arrested Matthew Tollis, 21, and jailed him on charges of conspiracy, aiding and abetting to convey false information, and making bomb threats. At least five other suspects have been identified, the U.S. Attorney says, and the investigation into their involvement is on-going. According to an arrest affidavit, Tollis was present and assisted in making a bomb threat to the University of Connecticut. In interview, the FBI said Tollis admitted his involvement, and claimed he participated because he was bullied and “doxed,” the latter the process of having all your personal information posted on-line for others to view and use in pranks and crimes. Tollis posted $100,000 bail secured by his parents home, surrendered his passport, and is wearing an ankle bracelet to monitor his location. He is also prohibited from accessing the Internet and making contact with his co-conspirators. Download (pdf) the full set of charging documents here., and the FBI press release. Separately, police in Ohio are investigating a series of SWATing incidents last September that sent heavily-armed police to a residence in response to a telephone call reporting an armed kidnapper who had a bomb.
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