The penalties for swatting run from a few years in jail for a false emergency report up to life in federal prison when the hoax kills someone. Federal prosecutors most often charge the conduct under the false-information and hoaxes statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1038, which sets a three-tier sentencing ladder based on what happens to the victims and requires courts to order the offender to pay back every dollar that emergency responders spent. State charges, civil lawsuits, and additional federal counts for threats or stalking frequently stack on top.
Federal Prison Time Under 18 U.S.C. § 1038
Section 1038 covers anyone who intentionally conveys false or misleading information suggesting that a crime covered by federal terrorism, weapons, or explosives statutes has occurred, is occurring, or will occur. A swatting call describing a hostage situation, active shooter, or bomb fits squarely inside that definition. The penalties scale with the harm the hoax causes.
- Base offense: up to five years in prison and a fine.
- Serious bodily injury to any person: up to twenty years and a fine.
- Death of any person: up to life in prison and a fine.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1038 – False Information and Hoaxes
The death tier is not theoretical. Officers responding to a swatting call are told someone inside is armed and dangerous, and they treat the threat as real until proven otherwise. When that assumption meets a confused resident who had no warning, people die.
Additional Federal Charges That Commonly Stack
Prosecutors rarely charge a swatting case under § 1038 alone. If the hoax call crossed state lines and contained a threat to injure someone, 18 U.S.C. § 875 adds up to five years for the threat itself, or up to twenty years if the threat was made with intent to extort.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 875 – Interstate Communications
When the swatting is part of a pattern of harassment aimed at a specific victim, cyberstalking charges under 18 U.S.C. § 2261A come into play. That statute reaches anyone who uses electronic communication services to place another person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury, or to cause substantial emotional distress.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261A – Stalking
Each count carries its own maximum, and sentences for separate counts can run consecutively. A single swatting incident that targets one home can produce multiple federal charges, and a swatter who hits victims across the country faces that math repeated in every district where a call landed.
Restitution and Civil Liability
Section 1038 does not leave restitution to the judge’s discretion. The statute requires courts to order anyone convicted to reimburse state and local governments, as well as nonprofit fire and rescue organizations, for every dollar spent responding to the hoax. That covers personnel time, equipment costs, and the expense of investigating the false report.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1038 – False Information and Hoaxes
The same statute opens the door to civil suits. Under § 1038(b), any party that spent money responding to or investigating a swatting call can sue the perpetrator directly to recover those expenses. Agencies, private organizations, and individuals all have standing.
Victims can also sue for their own injuries, bringing claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and related harms. The Finch family reached a $5 million settlement with the city of Wichita over the police shooting that killed Andrew Finch. That case was aimed at the city rather than at the person who placed the call, but it shows the scale of damages a swatting incident produces. A civil judgment against the swatter personally is also available, though collecting from someone serving a long federal sentence is a separate problem.
State Penalties and Multi-Jurisdiction Exposure
Every state criminalizes filing false emergency reports. The specific charges and penalties vary, but a common structure starts the offense as a misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail and a fine of several thousand dollars. When the false report causes serious injury or death, the charge escalates to a felony with multi-year prison terms and significantly higher fines.
A growing number of states have moved past general false-reporting laws and enacted swatting-specific statutes. These targeted laws often include built-in penalty enhancements for reports that cause physical harm and provisions requiring offenders to reimburse emergency agencies for response costs. Kentucky, Oregon, and Ohio have all passed laws that explicitly authorize courts to order restitution to emergency service providers in swatting cases.
Because swatting calls frequently originate in one state and target victims in another, a single incident can trigger prosecution in several places at once. Double jeopardy does not bar separate sovereigns from charging the same conduct, so a swatter can face federal charges and state charges in both the state the call came from and the state where officers were sent.
What a Real Sentence Has Looked Like
The most instructive case is Tyler Barriss. In December 2017, Barriss placed a swatting call that sent police in Wichita, Kansas, to Andrew Finch’s address, where officers shot and killed Finch on his front porch. Barriss had made swatting calls in several states, and federal prosecutors charged him with a combined 51 counts. He pleaded guilty and received 20 years in federal prison, with the Kansas and California sentences running consecutively.4U.S. Department of Justice. California Man Sentenced in Deadly Wichita Swatting Case
The Barriss sentence is a useful anchor because it shows the pieces working together. The death tier of § 1038 made life in prison a possibility. The multi-state pattern meant counts could be charged in more than one district. Consecutive sentencing turned a long prison term into a longer one. Restitution orders followed. None of that required a swatting-specific federal statute.
Pending Federal Legislation
Current federal law does not use the word “swatting.” Prosecutors rely on the general hoax, threat, and stalking statutes described above. The Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act, introduced in January 2025, would add swatting to the federal criminal code explicitly. The bill would expand 18 U.S.C. § 1038 to specifically prohibit false reports made with the intent to provoke an emergency law enforcement response at a target’s address, and it would authorize up to twenty years in prison when serious injury results. As of early 2026, the bill remains in the introductory stage and has not passed either chamber of Congress.5U.S. Congress. S.38 – Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act of 2025
Until that bill or something like it becomes law, the federal penalty structure for swatting is the one already on the books: five years, twenty years with serious injury, life with a death, plus whatever threat and stalking counts the facts support, plus mandatory restitution, plus civil exposure, plus whatever the states choose to add.