FBI Arrests 29-Year-Old Alabama Man After Epic Reported Fortnite Voice Chat Threats

The FBI arrested a 29-year-old man from Alabama last week following threats made over Fortnite's voice chat, as reported by Epic Games. Edward Frith, who goes by the username "WagesOfNinja," was apprehended when the FBI arrived at his residence. Frith, according to the affidavit, expressed his intention to "literally murder somebody" and frequently contemplated killing people.

He also mentioned his plan to confront law enforcement, saying, "I ll shoot them motherf****rs too" before the FBI arrived. Epic Games voluntarily disclosed the situation to the FBI's NTOS EXTRACT, providing an audio recording and transcript of the threats. Frith was indicted for violating Interstate Threatening Communications on September 23 and pleaded "not guilty" on September 24, leading to his remand in custody.

Epic introduced a voice reporting system in November 2023, enabling players to record and discreetly report voice chat violations. Once reported, the last five minutes of communications are saved and sent to Epic's moderation team for review. Players can face bans or federal investigation, as demonstrated in this case, for severe communications.