Swatting Charges Rock Maryland as Trio Indicted for Conspiracy and Swatting

In a shocking move, a federal grand jury in Maryland returned a superseding indictment on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, charging three individuals with conspiracy, cyberstalking, interstate threatening communications, and threats to damage or destroy by means of fire and explosives.

The indictment names Owen Jarboe, 18, of Hagerstown, Maryland, Evan Strauss, 26, of Moneta, Virginia, and Brayden Grace, 18, of Columbus, Ohio, as the masterminds behind a swatting spree that left police and emergency departments scrambling across the United States.

According to the six-count superseding indictment, the trio, along with other conspirators, knowingly and unlawfully conspired to place and caused to be placed swatting calls to multiple police and emergency departments from approximately December 10, 2023 through at least January 18, 2024.

The swatting incidents allegedly included a threat to burn down a residential trailer park in Alabama, a shooting threat against a teacher and unnamed students at a high school in Delaware, a shooting and bomb threat to the Albany International Airport in New York, a shooting and bomb threat against a casino in Ohio, and a multiple homicide event and shooting threat against individuals in a residence in Eastman, Georgia.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in federal prison for each count of conspiracy, cyberstalking, and interstate threat, and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on each charge to damage or destroy by means of fire and explosive.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI Baltimore Field Office for its outstanding work in the investigation and praised the Joint Terrorism Task Force and numerous police departments across the country for their valuable assistance in the case.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen O. Gavin and Robert I. Goldaris.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office and its resources, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS

Cybercrime

Ercan Findikoglu, Computer Intrusion, New York 2016

Feb 10, 2017

Cybercrime

Davit Davitashvili, Threatening, Pennsylvania 2021

Jul 2, 2021

Cybercrime

Casey K. Umetsu, Computer Network Sabotage, Hawaii 2023

Aug 21, 2023

Cybercrime

Nikhil Nilesh Shah, Computer Code Tampering, North Carolina 2015

Aug 31, 2015