Targeted

The serial "swatter" who called in false reports of crimes that led to a man's death pleaded guilty TUESDAY (11/13) to 51 charges, including one related to a bomb threat that disrupted the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION's DECEMBER 2017 open meeting.

TYLER BARRISS, 26, made several bomb threat calls to emergency numbers across the country, including calls targeting the FCC (during the meeting that included the controversial vote on repealing the Commission's Net Neutrality policy) and FBI. One call, made from BARRISS' CALIFORNIA home, sent police to a home in WICHITA under the false impression that they were dealing with a family hostage crisis; the homeowner was shot to death by police. The WICHITA incident stemmed from a dispute between CALL OF DUTY players, and the address given by BARRISS was an old address for a player being swatted. He will be sentenced JANUARY 30th and faces 20 years in prison; he will also be tried in JANUARY for involuntary manslaughter in the WICHITA case.

Reacting to the news of BARRISS' guilty plea, FCC Commissioner AJIT PAI said, “I am deeply grateful to the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, local law enforcement, and FCC security officials for their efforts in prosecuting this case and protecting this agency. We will continue working to carry out the mission of the FCC.”

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