A man was sentenced to 2 years in prison for 'swatting' 20 people
"Swatting" is where someone contacts the police and falsely claims that a violent crime is happening at someone else's home. Armed police then visit the property, usually handcuff the resident, and eventually realise that the whole thing was a hoax.
There have been many prominent "swatting" incidents in the past few years - Justin Timberlake was swatted, for example. And a gamer was even swatted live on webcam. It has become a tactic used to escalate internet feuds or harassment campaigns.
Cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs reports that Mir Islam will only serve one year of his two-year sentence due to time served on other charges.
Krebs was actually one of Islam's targets, and his home was swatted in 2013. Other people targeted swatted by Islam include senior NRA executive Wayne LaPierre, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen P. Heymann, and a cheerleader at the University of Arizona.
Islam was previously arrested in 2012 in connection with an online store that sold credit card details. That arrest resulted in Islam serving one day in jail.