Romanian pleads guilty to leading group responsible for 'swatting' lawmakers and former president

A Romanian citizen on Monday pleaded guilty in a U.S. District Court to leading a years-long conspiracy that was responsible for swatting many members of Congress and a former U.S. president.

Federal officials announced the plea deal, where 26-year-old Thomasz Szabo allegedly admitted that he was responsible for running an online community that targeted at least 25 members of Congress, former executive branch officials, senior federal law enforcement officials and at least 27 then-current or former state government officials or their family members, among others.

Szabo pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of threats and false information regarding explosives, according to the Justice Department.

“This defendant’s targeted and ruthless behavior put countless people in danger, including law enforcement, public officials, and ordinary citizens,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement. “Swatting attacks, that is, falsely reporting an ongoing threat of violence at a victim's 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," she added.

The swatting and bomb threat incidents, which include threats to churches and religious institutions, date back to 2020. Szabo admitted that he was the one who made a false report to law enforcement that included a threat to commit a mass-shooting at New York City synagogues in 2020, and a threat in January 2021 to detonate explosives at the U.S. Capitol and kill then-President-elect Joe Biden.  

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

Szabo, who was extradited from Romania last year, is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 23.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.