Romanian man pleads guilty to over 75 swatting attacks on US officials

According to the Department of Justice, Thomasz Szabo, who also went by the aliases of Plank, Jonah, as well as Cypher, 26, of Romania pleaded guilty to heading up a years-long conspiracy to target US officials in "swatting" attacks as well as bomb threats.

He and co-conspirators made false reports of threats at government buildings, churches, as well as the private homes of various government officials. 21-year-old Serbian national Nemanja Radovanovic as well as Szabo allegedly targeted over 100 public officials of federal, state, and local governments.

“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,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This case reflects our continued focus on protecting the American people and working with international partners to stop these threats at their source.”

Some of the false reports that were made by Szabo included a mass shooting threat at synagogues across New York City, as well as a threat to detonate a bomb in Washington, DC in order to kill then-President-elect Joe Biden in January 2021.

In addition to making the swatting calls and false threats, he also publicized his actions, encouraging others to participate in the activities.

"This defendant’s targeted and ruthless behavior put countless people in danger, including law enforcement, public officials, and ordinary citizens,” US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said. “Swatting attacks, that is, falsely reporting an ongoing threat of violence at a victims’ home address for the purpose of provoking a police response there, drain precious resources and can result in major injury or even death. Anyone who hijacks police resources for senseless crimes like these will have to answer for their actions.”

The victims of the swatting and bomb threats, aside from Biden, included 25 members of Congress or the family members of lawmakers, at least 13 senior law enforcement officials, 27 state or local government officials, multiple members of the media, as well as at least four religious institutions.

One subordinate to Szabo bragged to the leader of the conspiracy, “I did 25+ swattings today,” and “creating massive havoc in [A]merica. $500,000+ in taxpayers wasted in just two days." Szabo was extradited from Romania in November 2024 and pleaded guilty to his charges on Monday.

The charges come after the FBI promised that the agency would be cracking down on swatting following a number of conservative media figures being targeted by the false reports. There have been a number of high-profile swatting attacks over the past few years.

These have included the family of Human Events Daily host Jack Posobiec, Steve Bannon, Jonathan Turley, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Georgia Lt. Governor Burt Jones, and others.

InfoWars Chase Geiser was also swatted twice within a 24-period. Additionally, Trump cabinet appointees as well as other nominees to the executive branch after President Donald Trump was elected were also targeted in swatting attacks in late November last year.