A Romanian national has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a widespread “swatting” conspiracy that targeted numerous U.S. officials, including an unnamed former US president and nmembers of Congress.
The scheme involved making hoax emergency calls and bomb threats to instigate aggressive police responses at victims’ homes and other locations.Thomasz Szabo was extradited from Romania in November 2024, Balkan EU reported.
Mr. Szabo, 26, admitted his role in a sophisticated “swatting” operation, which aimed to intimidate and threaten dozens of U.S. public figures. The conspiracy began in 2020 and involved placing bogus 911 calls and making bomb threats which led to significant law enforcement deployments.
The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of making bomb threats.
The sophisticated scheme targeted a wide range of individuals and institutions across the U.S. Szabo and co-conspirator, Nemanja Radovanovic, 21, allegedly targeted both Republican and Democratic officials.
Among the key targets were:
- A former U.S. president (swatted on January 9, 2024, with a false report of a killing and bomb threat).
- Over 75 public officials, including members of Congress, governors, and cabinet-level officials.
- At least 25 members of Congress or their family members.
- Six then-current or former senior U.S. federal officials.
- At least 13 then-current or former senior federal law enforcement officials.
- Members of the federal judiciary, state government officials, and journalists.
- Four religious institutions.
Beyond “swatting” calls, the conspiracy involved serious threats that aimed to create widespread panic, including, threats to commit a mass shooting at multiple unspecified synagogues in New York City in Dec. 2020 and threats to detonate explosives at the U.S. Capitol Building and kill then-President-elect Joe Biden in January, 2021.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the “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.”
FBI Director Kash Patel added that “Swatting endangers lives and will not be tolerated by the FBI.
