Source: US FBI
Baltimore, Maryland – Today, Evan Strauss, 27, of Moneta, Virginia, pled guilty to conspiracy, cyberstalking, interstate threatening communications, and threats to damage or destroy by means of fire and explosives.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Acting Special Agent in Charge Amanda M. Koldjeski, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office.
According to the guilty plea, Strauss helped create and operate an online group known as “Purgatory.” The group used multiple online social-media platforms, including Telegram and Instagram, to coordinate and plan swatting and doxxing activities and to announce and brag about swats that they conducted.
“Swatting” is a term used to describe a criminal incident in which an individual contacts emergency services and falsely reports an emergency, often involving an act of violence that reportedly has or will occur at a particular location to elicit an armed law enforcement response to that location. “Doxxing” is a term used to describe the practice of — searching for and publishing on the Internet — personal, private, or identifying information about an individual with malicious intent, such as providing the information for the purpose of facilitating the swatting of the individual.
From December 10, 2023, through January 18, 2024, Strauss and his co-conspirators, including a co-conspirator who resided in Hagerstown, Maryland, and made calls from Maryland, placed swatting calls to police and other emergency response departments. One or more of the conspirators, acting with the intent to threaten, intimidate, and harass individuals and entities, falsely reported emergencies in the form of violent acts at particular locations to cause armed law enforcement responses.
Strauss and his co-conspirators often used shared scripts to plan and coordinate their conduct. They then called police departments using Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services to obscure their phone numbers and identities.
As part of the scheme, Strauss called the Newark Delaware Police Department and falsely claimed that he heard a man firing shots in a school hallway. Moments later, the Maryland co-conspirator called the department again, threatening to shoot a specific Newark High School teacher and kill students. As a result of these calls, which occurred in the middle of the school day, authorities placed the school on lockdown as police officers rushed to respond. Later the same day, Strauss and other conspirators bragged about the incident and posted images from the resulting news coverage onto their group’s social media accounts.
Strauss encouraged a Purgatory conspirator to “shut down” an airport. Following Strauss’ urging, the conspirator used a VOIP number to call the Albany Police Department in Albany, New York, stating he was going to the Albany International Airport to “shoot everybody up” and that his “friend” was going to set off bombs in the airport. Police units then rushed to respond to these threats.
Additionally, as part of this scheme, the Maryland co-conspirator called the Houston County Sheriff’s Office in Dothan, Alabama, and threatened to burn down part of a residential trailer park and kill any law enforcement officers who arrived to respond to the threat.
Strauss faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each count of threatening to damage or destroy by fire or explosive and a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy, cyberstalking, and interstate threats. Co-conspirators Brayden Grace, 19, of Columbus, Ohio, and Owen Jarboe, 19, of Hagerstown, Maryland, pled guilty earlier this year and are awaiting sentencing.
Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is scheduled for Thursday, November 6, at 10 a.m.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI for its work in the investigation. Additionally, Ms. Hayes praised the Joint Terrorism Task Force, Columbus; Ohio Police Department; Newark, Delaware Police Department; Lenoir City, Tennessee Police Department; Albany, New York Police Department; Albany County, New York Sheriff’s Office; Fairburn City, Georgia Police Department; Bethel Park, Pennsylvania Police Department; Giles County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office; Blue Springs, Missouri Police Department; Tarboro, North Carolina Police Department; Boston, Massachusetts Police Department; Dodge County, Georgia Sheriff’s Office; Houston County, Alabama Sheriff’s Office; and the FBI’s Mobile, Richmond, Boston, Charlotte, and Cincinnati Field Offices for their valuable assistance. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert I. Goldaris and Patricia C. McLane who are prosecuting the case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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