A Romanian man who confessed to his role in orchestrating numerous swatting incidents and bomb threats aimed at U.S. government officials—including some of the nation’s lawmakers, Cabinet members, federal judges, and top law enforcement executives—was sentenced to a four-year prison term on Wednesday.
Prosecutors had initially sought a five-year sentence for 27-year-old Thomasz Szabo, who in June admitted to charges of conspiracy and making threats.
The case was overseen by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D.C.
Szabo, known online by the pseudonyms “Plank,” “Jonah,” and “Cypher,” entered a guilty plea on June 2, 2025, to charges of conspiracy and making explosive threats, as detailed by the Justice Department.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, publicly disclosed the four-year sentence of Thomasz Szabo, a Romanian national, for conducting swatting calls targeting congressional members and other officials.
“This administration will not tolerate attacks on the institutions and individuals who serve this country,” declared U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. “Szabo was extradited from Romania to face justice in an American courtroom, and today he has faced the repercussions of his actions.”
Swatting, the act of making hoax threats to provoke a tactical law enforcement response at a target’s home, has become a prolific form of harassment in recent years and poses an increasing public safety hazard.
“Swatting is not just a nuisance, it’s extremely dangerous,” said U.S. Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan. “I am proud of our investigators, as well as thankful for our prosecutors and law enforcement partners for their steadfast efforts to ensure justice is served. This shows that we will cross the globe to track threats down.”
Court documents state that, beginning in 2018, Szabo organized online chat servers in Romania centered around “trolling.”
Capitol police officers chat on the steps of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Kylie Cooper/Reuters, File)
By 2020, prosecutors say, he began his swatting campaign. Also charged in the scheme is Nemanja Radovanovic of Serbia.
In December 2023, Szabo instructed his associates to choose targets from both the Democratic and Republican parties.
Radovanovic and an associate, Alan Filion, allegedly targeted at least 25 members of Congress or their relatives, along with dozens of other state and federal officials.
“Over and over, police departments and other first responders were hijacked by the defendant and deployed to fictitious emergencies,” prosecutors wrote. “As a result, fewer personnel and resources were available to respond to real emergencies.”
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File)
The pair reportedly bragged to Szabo about their exploits, stating, “I did 25-plus swatting [calls] today,” and claimed they created “massive havoc in America” with “$500,000-plus in taxpayer [dollars] wasted in just two days.”
Szabo was extradited from Romania in November 2024.
Filion, who was 18 at the time of his sentencing in February 2025, also received four years in prison after pleading guilty to making approximately 375 swatting calls between August 2022 and January 2024.
Radovanovic’s case is still pending, according to officials.
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