(ABC 6 News) – In Iowa, a newly proposed bill that would increase the penalties for so called “swatting calls.”

Those calls are defined by fake reports of active threats that result in large police responses.

The Iowa department of public safety is asking lawmakers to upgrade the penalty from a serious misdemeanor, up to a class-D felony, which is can land someone behind bars for up to five years.

If the call results in someone getting hurt or killed, the caller responsible could face a class-C felony, which is punishable by up to ten years in prison.

Most recently in our area, multiple Jewish facilities in Rochester were targeted by these kinds of fake reports, which have increased in numbers since the start of the war in Israel.