A Fortnite player from Alabama has been arrested by the FBI after Epic Games reported threats he allegedly made in voice chat. The arrest came only three days after Epic Games handed the recordings to federal investigators, which shows how quickly a Fortnite report can escalate beyond a ban.
As reported by Dexerto, a federal affidavit identifies the Fortnite player as 29-year-old Edward Lee Frith, who used the name WagesOfNinja. Frith allegedly said, “Let’s see if the FBI is going to show up at my door,” before adding that he would shoot the agents as well.
Fortnite player was arrested by the FBI in only three days
The affidavit claims that the player’s threats did not stop at the FBI, as Frith allegedly talked about wanting to murder someone and about killing a police officer and himself if arrested. An FBI agent reviewed the audio recordings and confirmed that the statements in the affidavit were transcribed accurately.
Epic Games made a voluntary emergency disclosure to the FBI on September 20 and provided account information for WagesOfNinja. Investigators then used records to connect the account to Frith. Epic Games also disclosed that the Fortnite account had been accessed more than 1,700 times from IP addresses in Alabama.
The affidavit does not explain how Epic obtained the recordings. However, Fortnite has had a voice reporting system since November 2023, which captures the last five minutes of voice chat on a rolling basis. The audio stays on the player’s device and only reaches Epic Games moderators when a participant submits a report.
It’s important to note that Epic Games cannot listen to Fortnite voice chat on demand, as the audio is only uploaded with a report. However, voice reporting is always on in public Game Channels and in any chat that includes players under 18, which means audio from public lobbies can always be reported.
Frith was indicted on September 23 on an interstate threatening communications charge and pleaded not guilty the following day. He remains in custody until the trial, which is currently expected to take place in December.
In the meantime, Epic Games is also dealing with a €100M lawsuit that could bring compensation to Fortnite players. The game developer has also released many free skins in Fortnite, and six of them can be unlocked in October.
