A Blanchard, Oklahoma man has been sentenced to a decade in federal prison on charges that include possession of child pornography and communicating a threat to bomb synagogues. Landon Kyle Swinford, 20, faced the judgement on Thursday as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Swinford's sentence comes after a confirmation that from May through October 2023, he was in communication with an undercover law enforcement officer. During this interaction, Swinford mentioned his desire to join ISIS overseas, and scouted locations such as the University of Oklahoma's Gaylord Memorial Stadium for a potential terror attack. However, the investigation further revealed Swinford's engagement with child pornography. "The egregious conduct of this defendant stands in direct violation of our core values and must be confronted with the full force of the law," U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester stated, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
It was discovered that Swinford had multiple social media accounts through which, he accessed and shared child pornography. His dark path also led him to post a threat on Instagram on October 23, 2023, which read, “CAST FEAR INTO THE HEARTS OF THE KUFFAR THIS HALLOWEEN Dress up as your favorite mujahideen and bomb a synagogue,” as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office. This was part of the evidence that led up to Swinford's guilty plea on November 13, 2024, admitting to the possession and distribution of the illicit material and to transmitting threats to injure others.
U.S. District Judge Charles Goodwin highlighted the gravity of Swinford's actions during sentencing. The judge pointed out that Swinford not only threatened Jewish places of worship, but also demonstrated a willingness to engage in terrorism and exploit minors sexually. Although Swinford did plead guilty last November, he admitted to having material containing child pornography that included images of prepubescent children, and that he knowingly transmitted a communication containing a threat to injure another person, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The case was worked on by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in collaboration with various police departments including the Edmond Police Department, McClain County Sheriff’s Office, and the New York City Police Department. The investigation by these agencies resulted in swift justice, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Dillon leading the prosecution. As Swinford begins his 120-month sentence followed by five years of supervised release, the verdict stands as a testament to the ongoing efforts to counter both cyber-based terrorism and the exploitation of children, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
