First conviction for "Swatting", 25 years.

The Article in Question

15 year old Paul Horner was sentenced to 25 years in a federal prison for domestic terrorism.

He broke down in tears when the sentence was handed down. There were no Lulz.

The judge had some pretty harsh words to say about people who engage in this kind of thing, and to be honest he is 100% right. The sheer stupidity of such an act and the potential for loss of life is staggering. A firm example needed to be made, and 25 years is it.

Was the recent The Creatures swatting debacle the last we will see of this? Or do you think some kids are still stupid enough to do this when they know for sure you can get 25 years for it?

(Please, lets not turn this into a discussion about police violence. That is unrelated. Keep it on topic)

EDIT - "Defense lawyers told the courtroom that Horner, who goes by the gamertag BadAssDwg69...."

MOD EDIT: This is a hoax. The article in question was originally posted by a satirical news site and has been picked up by some other sites as real news.

Wow, what an idiot. It's a pretty serious offence, let this be a warning to trolls and other internet arseholes.

EDIT: God damn it, you actually fooled me for a few minutes there.

I don't think this will deter people from doing it. They'll just get smarter about not getting caught. I think the trill of this for them is doing it without getting caught and being able to do it. Also some of them are just as dumb as bricks.

I appreciated the Judges closing comment on how parents need to stop being dumb fucks with their kids

"Leave your petty pride in the realm of digital fantasy where it is still safe,” Digsby said. “Because, as young mister Horner has learned, actions in the real world don’t have a reset button. And every parent should make sure their children understand that"

*EDIT* Oh right, it's one of those fake news sites.

http://www.reddit.com/r/DotA2/comments/2ezv1t/remember_that_guy_who_got_swatted_well_the_one/

I did some googling, and these guys are saying it's fake... I dunno.

This isn't such a bad idea

Yes it is a terrible thing and clearly he should be punished. But a terrorism conviction?

Now I'm just wondering if you know it's a fake news site and are trying to fool people, or if you actually bought it.

man, 25 years? That's most of his entire adult life right there. That's... man.

I mean, I get it, they need to set an example that this shit will not (and should not) be tolerated, but at the end of the day he's a 15 year old dumb ass. People do dumb shit at 15 (hell, I've met people doing dumb shit at 25), just seems a bit harsh for what was probably in his mind a prank phone call.

Apparently the article is a fraud so woohoo I guess.

@make_me_mad: It may be fake but I for one think it's totally reasonable!

That's just a hot word the US likes to use these days to scare people. It's a bit ridiculous they're calling it terrorism. I'm torn between feeling sorry for this kid and feeling that this is deserved. 25 years is way too harsh a punishment for this though. I suppose someone needs to be an example of what happens when you do this and get caught. One mistake has ruined this kid's life. He didn't hurt or kill anyone.

I hope this actually is fake. That's insane. 25 years is waaaaaaaaay too long. You guys are ruthless.

Can a mod or someone look into this and lock this thread if true?

Happened to glance at the sidebar and that broke the illusion. Or reality got awesome with Georgia legalizing handgun vending machines.

Hmm, wonder what's popped up on The Onion lately.

@spraynardtatum: It is. Not sure if the OP knew it or not but the site is one of those new satire sites that decided they want to be The Onion.

Holy shit I actually bought it.

God damnit.

I accept your right to shame me.

Just going to say, that image is really conspicuously Photoshopped...

Yup, this is likely a fake story as a few have already mentioned.

@jesus_phish: Thank god. I thought we were living in some insane society where people cheered when someone was put in jail for 25 years for a prank fucking phone call.

It's America. Crazier convictions have happened, so I don't blame you for believing it. I did too until I saw the source.

Eh, we've all been there at one point or another.

It seems like the article in question is a hoax, so I'm locking this.