Overview

• Szabo, 26, pleaded guilty on June 2 to one count of conspiracy and one count of threats involving explosives that carry a combined maximum sentence of 15 years and faces sentencing on October 23, 2025.
• Court documents show he led an online network from late 2020 through early 2024 that made false emergency calls, including bomb and mass-shooting threats against New York synagogues and the U.S. Capitol.
• The swatting campaign targeted at least 25 members of Congress or their relatives, six senior executive-branch officials and multiple federal judges, among other institutions.
• Extradited from Romania in November 2024, Szabo’s arrest and prosecution involved cooperation between the FBI, U.S. Secret Service and Romanian authorities through the Justice Department’s international office.
• The FBI tracked roughly 600 swatting incidents in 2023, highlighting the growing danger and resource drain posed by such hoaxes.