A Romanian man charged with making dozens of hoax bomb threats and false emergency reports targeting American citizens, including officials in Georgia, entered into a plea agreement Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C.
Thomasz Szabo, 26, pleaded guilty to leading a yearslong effort, along with coconspirators, to bring an armed police response to government buildings, houses of worship and private residences where no emergency existed, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The bogus calls ― known as “swatting” — targeted about 40 private citizens and 61 public officials between December 2023 and early January 2024.
In Georgia, at least four state senators, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene were targeted in December with fake 911 calls to their homes.
Szabo, who was extradited from Romania in November 2024, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to one count of threats involving explosives, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on Oct. 23.
Jeanine Ferris Pirro, the former television host appointed by President Donald Trump as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement that anyone who “hijacks police resources for senseless crimes like these will have to answer for their actions.”
“This defendant’s targeted and ruthless behavior put countless people in danger, including law enforcement, public officials and ordinary citizens,” she said.
Another man who participated in swatting, then-21-year-old Nemanja Radovanovic of Serbia, was not in court Monday. When asked, a representative for the U.S. attorney’s office could not say whether Radovanovic was in the United States or even in custody in his home country.
According to court records, the two men communicated via online chat groups “organized and moderated by Szabo,” using internet aliases including “Plank” and “Cypher” for Szabo and “Thuggin” and “XDR” for Radovanovic.
The indictment did not indicate a possible motive.
Amid a spate of swatting calls, Szabo allegedly told Radovanovic they needed to target both Republican and Democratic politicians because “we are not on any side.”
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