Virginia man tied to Neo-Nazis sentenced to 33 months for ‘swatting’ incidents

A 20-year-old Virginia man has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for his involvement in multiple “swatting” incidents.

According to a press release from the Department of Justice, John William Kirby Kelley conspired with John Cameron Denton, a former leader of the Neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division, to carry out at least 134 swatting calls. He has been sentenced to 33 months in prison.

Swatting is a form of harassment in which someone deceives emergency personnel into believing a person is in immediate danger of death or bodily harm, causing police and emergency services to be sent to a third party’s address. 

Kelley carried out “swats” on journalists, a former U.S. Cabinet member, the Virginia university he once attended, a historic Virginia church and an Islamic center in Arlington, Texas, according to the Justice Department.

“The FBI and our law enforcement partners take all threats seriously and investigate instances of swatting. Law enforcement and first responders put their lives at risk every day, and swatting instances which increase that risk will not be tolerated,” FBI Special Agent James Dawson said.

According to the Justice Department, Kelley managed an online chatroom where fellow conspirators chose targets and coordinated swatting calls. Many of the people he worked with were white supremacists and targeted people based on “racial animus.”

Kelley, who attended Old Dominion University, asked conspirators to “swat” his school, which they did on Nov. 29 and Dec. 4, 2018.

“Swatting attacks are serious crimes that disrupt the operations of local emergency agencies, take first responders away from real emergencies, and place victims, community members, and law enforcement officers in grave danger,” Raj Parekh, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA), said in the release.

“EDVA will continue to bring to justice those who threaten public safety with these menacing hoaxes, especially when those threats are motivated by racial or religious animus, which are intolerable and have no place in our society,” Parekh added.