5 Year Sentence for Teen After Swatting Attack

5 Year Sentence for Teen After Swatting Attack

BVBLaw

A teenager has been sentenced to 5 years in prison following a 'Swatting' incident in April 2020 during which Tennessee man Mark Herring suffered a fatal heart attack. The 18 year old and a co-conspirator from the United Kingdom had been harassing Herring and his family for some time in a bid to convince him to surrender his coveted Twitter handle @Tennessee. Mr. Herring had previously been offered large sums of money for the account from various sources but had no interest in selling it. The teens believed if they could get control of the account they could sell it for a profit. When their efforts failed a false murder report was called in at Mr. Herring's address resulting in a SWAT team being dispatched and surrounding his home. The 60-year old suffered a massive heart attack triggered by the shock.

The victim's family has spoken out and demanded more be done to curb internet harassment. At present, there are no laws against online harassment, but they feel had something been done in the years prior to the Swatting incident it may not have escalated to that level.