Man accused of Ohio, White House ‘swatting’ incidents charged

CLERMONT COUNTY — A Pennsylvania man is facing charges in southwest Ohio for multiple swatting incidents, including a bomb threat made to the White House.

Michael E. Carpenter, of Parkersburg, Pennsylvania, was incident earlier this month on one felony count of swatting, according to Clermont County Common Pleas Court records.

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The 19-year-old drove approximately nine hours to turn himself in to authorities in Clermont County early Thursday morning, our news partners at WCPO in Cincinnati reported.

Carpenter appeared in court on Thursday, where a judge set his bond at $25,000, court records indicated.

The charge stems from a call that was made to police in Mansfield, Ohio in November. The caller claimed to have shot his brother and tied up his mother at a home in Washington Township. Officials discovered the call was fake when they arrived at the address mentioned in the call.

Officials said Carpenter was found that have had communication with a child that lived at the house through Snapchat.

Not long after Clermont County officials left the Washington Township home, dispatchers got a 911 call from the same male caller, who this time claimed to have “pressure bombs” at the White House and was holding a person hostage, WCPO reported.

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The caller allegedly verified with the Sheriff’s Office that he was “swatting,” but the information was still sent to the Secret Service.

Later in November, the Shelby County Communications Center got a call from a man who said he shot his mother at the same Washington Township residence. As WCPO reported, this time the call was followed by the sound of gunshots and screaming.

After being dispatched to the residence, they found the call to have been fake.

The calls were traced back to Carpenter.

Carpenter’s next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 1.

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