Two European men carried out a plot to intimidate and threaten many people, including a former U.S. president and members of Congress, by making fake police emergency calls to their homes. Court records revealed this information on Wednesday.
The plot involved Thomasz Szabo, 26, from Romania, and Nemanja Radovanovic, 21, from Serbia, who targeted about 100 individuals with “swatting” calls to provoke aggressive responses from police officers. The affidavit by a U.S. Secret Service agent did not name the former U.S. president or other officials as victims of the hoax calls.
Although the indictment did not explicitly charge the two defendants with threatening a former president, it identified a “former elected official from the executive branch” as one of the victims. Radovanovic falsely reported a killing and threatened to set off an explosion at this person’s home on January 9, 2024.
The indictment stated that the defendants targeted both Republican and Democratic parties, claiming they were not on any particular side.
The calls also included threats of mass shootings at New York City synagogues and setting off explosives at the U.S. Capitol and a university. Charges against Szabo and Radovanovic include conspiracy and more than two dozen counts of making threats, spanning over three years from December 2020 to January 2024.
Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, stated that swatting is not a harmless prank and can endanger real people, waste police resources, and cause emotional trauma.
Szabo organized and led chat groups to coordinate swatting attacks against 40 private citizens and 61 officials, including high-ranking members of the federal government and state officials. Radovanovic was accused of making fake emergency calls to government agencies, leading to a car crash involving injuries and other incidents.
The FBI reported a surge in swatting calls in late 2023 and early 2024, with some targets associated with cases against former President Donald Trump. Georgia state senators affected by swatting calls expect the U.S. to seek extradition of the defendants for trial.
State Senator John Albers emphasized the importance of sending a strong message to others that they will be held accountable for such actions. State Senator Clint Dixon, whose home was targeted by swatting calls, expressed relief after the suspects were identified, highlighting the potential danger of such incidents to families.
The Canadian Press © 2024.
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