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2mo ago

Romanian Citizen Pleads Guilty to Orchestrating Swatting and Bomb Threats Against U.S. Officials

He faces up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced in October for a years-long conspiracy that endangered lives by provoking armed police responses through bomb scares.

FILE - Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a news conference at the Justice Department, Feb. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., arrives for a meeting of House Republicans in the Capitol Visitor Center on the budget reconciliation bill on Thursday, May 15, 2025.
Capitol Police officers wait to board the Senate subway.
The calls to law enforcement included false claims of homicides, suicides, kidnappings and mass shootings

Overview

  • Thomasz Szabo, 26, admitted June 2 in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to one count of conspiracy and one count of threats involving explosives.
  • Prosecutors say he founded and led an online community that from late 2020 made false reports of violent emergencies at government buildings, houses of worship and private homes to trigger armed law enforcement deployments.
  • Court documents state the plot targeted more than 75 individuals, including members of Congress, a former U.S. president, senior executive branch officials and federal law enforcement leaders.
  • Szabo was extradited from Romania in November 2024 following cooperation between U.S. and Romanian authorities in the investigation and evidence gathering.
  • Sentencing is scheduled for October 23, 2025, and carries a maximum penalty of 15 years behind bars.