A Romanian man admitted guilt on Monday to charges of being involved in a “swatting” operation that targeted numerous high-profile individuals, including a former US president.
The 26-year-old Thomasz Szabo participated in a long-term scheme to place false 911 calls reporting emergencies at the residences of prominent government officials and to issue bomb threats against government facilities and places of worship, as stated by the Justice Department. He accomplished this by utilizing the pseudonyms “Plank,” “Jonah,” and “Cypher.”
Nemanja Radovanovic, a 21-year-old Serbian national who collaborated with Szabo, is reported to have aimed at approximately 100 individuals, which included members of Congress, governors, cabinet-level officials, and state representatives, according to the New York Post.
One of their targets reportedly included a “former elected official from the executive branch.” On January 9, 2024, Radovanovic falsely claimed that a murder was occurring at the residence of the former president or vice president, whose identity is not disclosed in the indictment, and threatened to detonate explosives at the individual’s home.
The indictment states that Szabo selected certain victims and instructed Radovanovic to place emergency calls intended to target both Republicans and Democrats.
“We are not aligned with any side,” Szabo reportedly informed Radovanovic.
The menacing calls commenced in December 2020, when Szabo contacted a crisis intervention hotline and declared his intention to “carry out a mass shooting at several unnamed synagogues in New York City.”
On or around January 17, 2021, it is reported that Szabo contacted another crisis intervention hotline and expressed intentions to kill Vice President-elect Joe Biden by detonating explosives at the US Capitol Building.
Radovanovic executed the final “swatting” call for the duo on January 9, 2024, which pertained to a homicide at the residence of a state governor. This call is referenced in the indictment.
In November of the previous year, Szabo was extradited from Romania. He entered a guilty plea to one charge of conspiracy and one charge of making bomb threats.
In October, he is scheduled to receive his sentence in a federal court located in Washington, DC.
“This defendant orchestrated a perilous swatting criminal conspiracy, intentionally endangering numerous government officials with violent fabrications and assaulting our nation’s security framework from abroad,” stated Attorney General Pam Bondi. “This case exemplifies our ongoing commitment to safeguarding the American populace and collaborating with international allies to eliminate these threats at their origin.”
FBI Director Kash Patel stated that swatting “will not be tolerated by the FBI.”
“Today, Szabo admitted guilt to a prolonged conspiracy that aimed at victims through swatting and bomb threats, which included government buildings, places of worship, and residences of government officials,” Patel mentioned in a statement. “Swatting poses a danger to lives and will not be accepted by the FBI.”
“We are entirely dedicated to collaborating with our partners to ensure that those criminals concealing their identities behind keyboards and making threats of violence are brought to justice.”
Charges against Radovanovic remain unresolved.
In a separate development, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino recently garnered attention when he declared that the bureau is “closing in” on individuals linked to the placement of two pipe bombs near the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 — indicating that the extensive, four-year investigation may be approaching a significant breakthrough after being inactive during the Biden administration.
“The moment we took office, I assembled a team and stated, ‘I want answers on this,’” Bongino shared with “Fox & Friends.” “I am quite confident that we are closing in on certain suspects.”
Law enforcement officials found two pipe bombs situated near the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committees just as thousands of demonstrators began gathering at the U.S. Capitol to protest the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Some supporters of President Donald Trump have raised questions regarding the timing of the pipe bomb incident and have pointed to possible security failures, suggesting that the Biden administration has not been entirely forthcoming about the specifics of the case.
Prior to assuming office, Bongino was a well-known proponent of that viewpoint.
