Absolutely, that could be part of their probation. So maybe they get probation + community service + psychological help + paying a symbolic portion of the SWAT operation cost. Or maybe they can get internet access, but only to read http://jezebel.com/. That'll drive them mad or expand their perspective if they are…

Thank you for acknowledging the rational parts of the situation and argument.

A good number of people replying to my comment have pointed out how harmful it would be to dump a multi-thousand dollar fine on a young person or a young person's family and I tend to agree with them on some of their points. Let me say though that like the police the US Coast Guard also has a mandate to take every…

Haha... this is an example of one of the downsides of internet conversations, if you looked at my comment history you would see that I consider myself a Marxist-leaning feminist ally. Should extremist MRA groups be considered hate groups? Yes. Should the US be more focused on combating hate groups and hate crime…

If they are minors I don't think marking them for life make much sense, the parts of your brain that differentiate right from wrong and govern impulse control are not even fully formed until you are in your early 20s. So, maybe a little jail time in appropriate for this level of malicious misuse of public services,…

I agree that the US needs to focus much more on potential sources of domestic terrorism like white supremacy groups and the more extremist MRA groups, but the current US prison system is not a place for non-violent offenders. The US prison system is not set up to rehabilitate people and what these people need is…

I think state sanctioned beating the perpetrator to death would not be allowed by the justice department because it would be considered cruel and unusual punishment. Also even if the perpetrator has a developmental disability they still deserve a chance to be rehabilitated and become as much of a productive member of…

Maybe a short prison sentence for a perpetrator like this, but the US prison system is not set up to rehabilitate people and what these people need is psychological help. So maybe they get probation + community service + psychological help + paying a symbolic portion of the SWAT operation cost.

Yes, I too think people need to take account for their stupidities(or in this situation their immaturity). The way to do that though for non-violent offenders in not the US prison system and a life sentence is definitely not the way to here. Can you honestly say that it benefits society to keep someone who is 40 or 50…

There is an existing use case for the perpetrator paying for the cost of the SWAT operation in how the US Coast Guard handles the reporting of false emergencies. http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg534/S…

Maybe a short prison sentence, but the US prison system is not set up to rehabilitate people and what these people need is psychological help. So maybe they get probation + community service + psychological help + paying a symbolic portion of the SWAT operation cost.

There is an existing use case for the perpetrator paying for the cost of the SWAT operation in how the US Coast Guard handles the reporting of false emergencies http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg534/S….

Except these people calling in Swats are not terrorists, they are not radicalized ideologies furthering an extreme political message. Swatting represents a very dangerous disregard for the importance of public services, but in this situation should not be considered terrorism. If they don't call people who actually…

Yeah, but you as a taxpayer are going to foot the bill both on that SWAT operation and the perpetrators jail time. Then because the US prison system is not setup to rehabilitate people you will not even be sure that the perpetrator will learn their lesson in regards to abusing a public service. What these people…

Maybe jail time, but the US prison system is not set up to rehabilitate people and what these people need is psychological help. So maybe they get probation + community service + psychological help + paying a symbolic portion of the SWAT operation cost?

Well... NASA is investigating the selling off the Martian water rights...

Well if they are doing things like Swatting than their parents need to be brought into the responsibility loop anyway.

Imprisoning them would cost the taxpayer even more money, just fine them for the cost of the operation, which probably gets into the 10s of thousands of dollars.

Why can't they find these people who call in these things and fine them for the entire cost of the operation. The Coast Guard charges or fines people who frivolously call for rescue.

Star Trek is made for kids and adults (space politics!) while Doctor Who is and always has been a kids show, made for kids.