Romanian pleads guilty to swatting calls targeting former US president, lawmakers

The Hill

3 days ago

A Romanian citizen pleaded guilty on Monday to leading a years-long conspiracy targeting dozens of individuals — including members of Congress, places of worship, and a former United States president — with 'swatting' calls and bomb threats intended to provoke fear and solicit a police response.
Thomasz Szabo, 26, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D.C., to one count of conspiracy and one count of threats and false information regarding explosives. The sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 23.
Federal prosecutors say Szabo was the leader of an online community that engaged in bomb threats and 'swatting' — a term that refers to making false reports of an ongoing threat of violence — since late 2020.
He was extradited from Romania in November 2024, the DOJ said.
'This defendant led a dangerous swatting criminal conspiracy, deliberately threatening dozens of government officials with violent hoaxes and targeting our nation's security infrastructure from behind a screen overseas,' Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
'This case reflects our continued focus on protecting the American people and working with international partners to stop these threats at their source,' she continued.
Szabo made numerous false reports to law enforcement, including in December 2020, when he threatened to commit a mass shooting at New York City synagogues and, in January 2021, when he threatened to detonate explosives at the U.S. Capitol and to kill then-President-elect Biden, according to a DOJ press release.
Members of Szabo's group then engaged in a 'spree of swatting and bomb threats' from Dec. 24, 2023, to early January 2024, the DOJ said. During that time, the group targeted at least 25 members of Congress or their family members; at least six officials who were, either then or previously, serving as a senior Executive Branch official, including multiple Cabinet-level officials; at least 13 senior federal law enforcement officials; and various members of the judiciary, according to the DOJ.
The DOJ said the group also targeted at least 27 officials who were serving at the time, or who previously served, as state government officials or their family members; four religious institutions; and multiple members of the media.
In recent years, political violence and 'swatting' incidents have been on the rise, in particular targeting members of Congress and other high-profile public figures.
Local Georgia news outlets reported that among the officials targeted by Szabo are Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Georgia State Sen. Clint Dixon.