DOJ Charges 2 Eastern Europeans in Swatting of US Officials

It seems there’s been a serious uptick in “swatting” incidents over the past few years. We’ve written on multiple such incidents here at RedState. On Wednesday, the Department of Justice announced that it had arrested two individuals in connection with several swatting incidents involving U.S. officials and members of Congress. 

WASHINGTON – Two foreigners from Romania and Serbia have been indicted for allegedly “swatting” more than 100 victims including members of Congress and Cabinet-level officials by reporting fake bomb threats or other emergencies, including at the Capitol, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

Thomasz Szabo, 26, of Romania, and Nemanja Radovanovic, 21, of Serbia, are each charged with one count of conspiracy, 29 counts of threats and false information regarding explosives, and four counts of transmitting threats in interstate and foreign commerce.

…

Szabo and Radonovanovic were allegedly part of a larger conspiracy from December 2020 to January 2024 to obtain home and business addresses for victims. The defendants then falsely reported killings, kidnappings or attempted suicides to spark an emergency response, including from police SWAT teams, according to the indictment.

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Swatting Surge: Law Enforcement Reports Sharp Rise in Dangerous Hoax Calls

Justice Department Identifies Person of Interest for 100 Swatting Attacks Against Politicians

That’s a lot of swatting — and a lot of lives put in danger. In fact, former Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) directly attributed swatting as one of the reasons he resigned from Congress.

On Tuesday, he spoke with NBC affiliate WLUK, saying:

This is more just me wanting to prioritize being with my family … I signed up for the death threats and the late-night swatting, but they did not. And for a young family, I would say this job is really hard.

The DOJ issued a press release regarding the indictments, including remarks from U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool of the Washington Field Office, and FBI Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the Washington Field Office. 

“Swatting is not a victimless prank—it endangers real people, wastes precious police resources, and inflicts significant emotional trauma,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “We will use every tool at our disposal to find the perpetrators and hold them accountable, no matter where they might be.”

“I am proud of the extraordinary investigative work done by Secret Service agents at the Washington Field Office in this case,” said Special Agent in Charge McCool. “The perpetrators of these crimes left a trail of victims across the United States, abusing critical law enforcement resources to terrorize elected officials, public figures, and private citizens. We will never waver in our commitment to bring individuals like this to justice.”

“Today’s charges demonstrate how seriously the FBI takes the crime of swatting, which can prevent law enforcement resources from getting to people who actually need them, as well as put lives in danger,” said Assistant Director in Charge Sundberg. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who commit this dangerous crime, no matter where they reside.”