‘Swatting’ Phone Call Targeted IRS Employee, Led to Lockdown

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Kansas City, Mo., man has been charged in federal court with making a hoax telephone call that led to an IRS employee being detained and the IRS office on Pershing Road being locked down.

Anthony M. Alford, 46, was charged in a criminal complaint that was filed under seal in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., on Friday, Sept. 27. The complaint was unsealed and made public today following Alford's arrest and initial court appearance. Alford remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Friday, Oct. 4.

The federal criminal complaint alleges that Alford placed a hoax telephone call to emergency services, falsely claiming that an individual was armed with a firearm and was threatening to shoot people in an IRS building.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Alford called 911 on Sept. 10, 2024, and reported that a person identified in court documents as "Victim One" had a gun and was threatening to shoot up the Internal Revenue Service building at 333 W. Pershing Road in Kansas City, Mo. Victim One is an employee of the IRS.

Kansas City police officers were dispatched to the building, where they contacted IRS security and Federal Protective Service officers. Victim One had been detained and searched for weapons based on the 911 call. Following the 911 call, the B-Wing of the IRS building was locked down. The IRS announced that there was an active shooter in the building and told those in the B-Wing to stay locked down.

Victim One was unarmed. Victim One told investigators she had been dating Alford for about a month and was trying to break up with him. Alford had never been violent, she said, but had exhibited controlling, possessive, and jealous behavior. Alford had repeatedly called and messaged her the previous night, she said, and earlier that morning sent her messages threatening to involve the police.

Investigators interviewed Alford afterward, according to the affidavit, and he told them Victim One did not threaten to shoot up the IRS Building, as he had said in the 911 call. Alford stated his intention when he called 911 was to instigate trouble for Victim One at work.

The charges contained in this complaint are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean T. Foley. It was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.