Feds: Romanian Man Pleads Guilty to 2020 Swatting Attack Targeting NYC Synagogues
The false threat to attack unnamed NYC synagogues occurred in December 2020, federal prosecutors said. Thomasz Szabo, 26, went on to encourage threats against various public officials across the political spectrum over the next few years. He was extradited last November, and is set to be sentenced in October.
A 26 year-old Romanian citizen has plead guilty to a false “swatting” attack targeted at unidentified NYC synagogues in December 2020, in addition to inspiring copycat attacks against varied public officials and institutions nationwide, federal prosecutors said.
Thomasz Szabo falsely threatened to commit a mass shooting at a random synagogue in the five boroughs, according to the FBI, via calling a crisis intervention hotline. He then lead others to engage in swatting attacks against roughly 100 people between 2021 and 2024. Szabo allegedly has a co-conspirator in Nemanja Radovanovic, a 21 year-old Serbian national who has yet to plead guilty but is expected to do so shortly.
Swatting is the colloquial term for a prank calling-in of a threat to law enforcement, in order to harass a target and prompt a police response to a nonexistent event. Szabo will be sentenced on one count of conspiracy and one count of “threats and false information regarding explosives” in October, in a Washington D.C. court. He was extradited from Romania in November of last year.
The perpetrators had no clear overarching ideological motive, as they targeted officials across the political spectrum. An indictment against them includes Szabo reportedly telling Radovanovic that, quote, “we are not on any side.”
According to the initial indictment of Szabo and Radovanovic, which occurred in August 2024, the two men were reportedly able to make their swatting calls after obtaining the personal information of various targets. Crucially, they cultivated a following around their swatting crimes, hence the conspiracy charges. Prosecutors say that Szabo encouraged his followers–via group chats–to engage in similar “prank” swatting calls, which they then did.
In addition to the false threat against local synagogues, Szabo’s followers then reportedly threatened an additional array of figures and places until 2024: then-President Joe Biden, six then-members of the U.S. Cabinet, 25 members of the U.S. Congress including Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, 27 then-current members of state government, 13 then-current senior members of federal law enforcement, various members of the federal judiciary including judges, four undefined additional houses of worship, and members of the media.
According to prosecutors, one of Szabo’s “subordinates” once told him: “I did 25+ swattings today, creating massive havoc in [A]merica. $500,000+ in taxpayers wasted in just two days.”
Szabo reportedly went by the following codenames in the group chats: “Plank,” “Jonah,” “Jonah Goldberg,“ Cypher,” “Rambler,” “War Lord,” “Shovel,” “Kollectivist,” “Mortenberg Shekelstorms,” and “NotThuggin2.” It’s unclear if Jonah Goldberg is a reference to the prominent conservative journalist affiliated with the magazine National Review. Radovanovic, meanwhile, allegedly operated under the names “XBD31,” “XDR,” “Angus,” “Thuggin,” “Thug Hunter,” “NotThuggin,” “DCL,” and “AOD.”
“This defendant led a dangerous swatting criminal conspiracy, deliberately threatening dozens of government officials with violent hoaxes and targeting our nation’s security infrastructure from behind a screen overseas,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
“Swatting is not just a prank, it is a serious violation of the law,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office Steven J. Jensen said. “Today’s guilty plea makes clear those engaged in these actions will face justice.”