Headlines
Romanian pleads guilty to 'swatting' US lawmakers and top officials
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 2, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 2, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Thomasz Szabo, a Romanian, admits guilt in a swatting campaign targeting US lawmakers and officials, involving bomb threats and hoax calls.
By Raphael Satter
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A Romanian man has pleaded guilty to participating in a years-long series of dangerous hoax phone calls and bomb threats targeting American legislators, law enforcement leaders, and government officials, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.
In a statement, the department said that Thomasz Szabo, 26, who was extradited to the United States last year, admitted targeting more than 75 officials, four religious institutions, and multiple journalists in his campaign of intimidation. Officials said Szabo targeted private residences, including the homes and families of senior government officials.
Authorities say Szabo routinely phoned in bomb threats and reports of ongoing violence or hostage situations at his targets' homes or places of work, a technique called “swatting” because it is meant to elicit the emergency deployment of heavily armed police officers.
Emails seeking comment from Szabo's lawyers were not immediately returned.
Justice officials described Szabo as the leader of a group that made a series of false reports to U.S. law enforcement, including a December 2020 threat to commit a mass-shooting at New York City synagogues and a January 2021 threat to detonate explosives at the U.S. Capitol and kill then-President-elect Joe Biden.
The department said that, in a two-month period alone, members of Szabo’s gang targeted at least 25 members of Congress or their family members, six then-current or former senior U.S. federal officials, "including multiple cabinet-level officials," at least 13 then-current or former senior federal law enforcement officials, including the heads of multiple federal law enforcement agencies. Others targeted included members of the federal judiciary, state government officials, and members of the media.
It was during that time that one of Szabo's subordinates boasted of "creating massive havoc" in the United States, the department said.
(Reporting by Raphael Satter; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Thomasz Szabo is a 26-year-old Romanian man who pleaded guilty to participating in a series of dangerous hoax phone calls and bomb threats targeting American legislators and law enforcement leaders.
Swatting is a technique where false reports of violence or hostage situations are made to law enforcement, often resulting in a heavy police response to the targeted individual's location.
Szabo's group targeted more than 75 officials, including at least 25 members of Congress or their family members, as well as multiple religious institutions.
One notable threat included a December 2020 warning of a mass shooting at a New York City synagogue, which was part of a broader series of false reports made to U.S. law enforcement.
Szabo admitted to leading a group that made numerous false reports to U.S. law enforcement, creating significant disruption and fear among targeted officials and the public.
Explore more articles in the Headlines category
