Federal prosecutors have charged two European men with “swatting” dozens of members of Congress and other U.S. elected officials, including a former president and president-elect, according to court records unsealed on Wednesday. Thomasz Szabo, 26, of Romania, and Nemanja Radovanovic, 21, of Serbia, allegedly targeted roughly 100 people with “swatting” calls to instigate an aggressive response by police officers at the victims’ homes, a federal indictment alleges. While the two defendants are not explicitly charged in the indictment with threatening a former president, one of the alleged victims is identified as a “former elected official from the executive branch” who was swatted on Jan. 9, 2024.
Online court records in Washington did not say if Szabo or Radovanovic have been arrested or if they are represented by attorneys. A court filing accompanying their indictment said investigators believed they were in separate foreign countries last week. Secret Service agents questioned Szabo in Romania in January and he admitted to being involved in swatting and bomb threats since late 2020. Agents also questioned Radovanovic in Serbia in February, where he claimed to be acting at the direction of a juvenile who provided him with victims’ addresses. Szabo and Radovanovic are both charged with conspiracy and more than two dozen counts of making threats. The plot spanned more than three years, from December 2020 through January 2024, according to prosecutors.
The indictment said Szabo organized and moderated chat groups to coordinate swatting attacks against 40 private citizens and 61 officials, including cabinet-level members of the federal government’s executive branch, the head of a federal law enforcement agency, a federal judge, current and former governors, and other state officials. In January 2021, three days before President Biden’s inauguration, Szabo called a crisis intervention hotline and threatened to detonate explosives at the U.S. Capitol and kill the president-elect. “Swatting is not a victimless prank — it endangers real people, wastes precious police resources, and inflicts significant emotional trauma,” Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement.
The FBI reported a surge in swatting calls in late 2023 and early 2024, with some of the targets linked to court cases against former President Trump. A fake emergency call reported a shooting at the home of U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing Trump’s election subversion case in Washington. Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith also was the subject of a fake emergency call on Christmas Day of 2023. Federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., handed up the indictment last Thursday and the two defendants are facing serious charges related to swatting political figures and prominent individuals.
The indictment highlights the dangerous nature of swatting and the potential consequences it can have on individuals targeted. Swatting involves making hoax emergency calls to prompt a large police response at the victim’s location, putting the individual at risk of harm and wasting valuable law enforcement resources. The defendants, Szabo and Radovanovic, are accused of targeting public officials and other prominent figures using this malicious tactic, spanning over a period of three years.
The investigation into these swatting incidents involved cooperation between U.S. law enforcement agencies and authorities in Romania and Serbia, where the suspects were located. Both Szabo and Radovanovic have been questioned by law enforcement officials, with Szabo admitting his involvement in similar activities since late 2020. The indictment outlines the extent of the conspiracy, with the defendants coordinating attacks against numerous individuals, including high-ranking government officials, law enforcement officers, and judges. The severity of the threats made by the defendants underscores the serious nature of the charges they are facing.
The impact of swatting goes beyond the immediate response by law enforcement, as it can also cause emotional distress and trauma to the victims targeted. The indictment mentioned instances where threats were made towards a former president and president-elect, highlighting the potential dangers posed by individuals engaging in such activities. The surge in swatting calls coinciding with court cases involving former President Trump further emphasizes the need to address this issue and prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. The charges brought against Szabo and Radovanovic serve as a warning to those considering engaging in swatting or similar malicious activities, underscoring the serious legal consequences that can result from such behavior.
