Thomasz Szabo, a 27-year-old Romanian national, was sentenced on Apr. 29 in U.S. District Court to four years in prison for leading an online swatting ring that targeted over 75 public officials, religious institutions, and journalists across the country.
The case highlights growing concerns about the use of swatting—making false emergency calls to provoke police responses—as a tool for harassment against high-profile individuals and organizations.
Szabo pleaded guilty on June 2, 2025, to conspiracy and threats involving explosives. In addition to his prison sentence, Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered three years of supervised release. Prosecutors had sought a longer sentence of nearly five years. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said: “Members of Congress, cabinet officials, the heads of federal law enforcement agencies, churches, journalists — Thomasz Szabo and his followers targeted them all with swatting calls and fake bomb threats designed to send armed police to their doors... Szabo was extradited from Romania to face justice in an American courtroom, and today he has reaped the consequences of his actions.”
Tara McLeese from the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office said: “Mr. Szabo deliberately wasted public resources and recklessly put the lives of innocent people at risk for his own amusement... Today’s sentencing reaffirms that swatting is not a prank...” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan added: “Swatting is not just a nuisance – it’s extremely dangerous... This shows that we will cross the globe to track threats down.”
FBI Washington Field Office Special Agent Michael Burgwald stated: “Mr. Szabo’s and his co-conspirators’ incessant swatting attacks created a tremendous drain on law enforcement resources and taxpayer dollars...” FBI Minneapolis Division Special Agent Christopher D. Dotson said: “For years, Thomasz Szabo sought to stoke fear and incite panic in victims from afar... The sentence handed down by the Court today serves to demonstrate that the FBI and our partners will track down offenders wherever they may be...”
Court documents show that starting in late 2020 Szabo led an online group responsible for numerous bomb threats and false reports targeting members of Congress or their families; senior executive branch officials; federal law enforcement leaders; state government officials; religious institutions; media members; as well as multiple judiciary figures.
One subordinate reportedly told Szabo during this period: "I did 25+ swattings today," claiming significant disruption including $500,000 in taxpayer funds wasted within two days.
Szabo was extradited from Romania in November 2024 following cooperation between multiple U.S., international agencies—including various field offices—and Romanian authorities.
