In a classic example of online rivalry gone too far, a Philadelphia man pleaded guilty to twice swatting at fellow fantasy football group chat members. Both times, he falsely reported that University of Iowa students were under threat of persecution in an attempt to get his rivals arrested.
Ars Technical Reports According to court documents, Matthew Gabriel, 25, of Philadelphia, got into an argument with a University of Iowa student who was in the same fantasy football chat group. The nature of the altercation is unclear, but Gabriel's response was to attack his rival with a swatting attack. Swatting, so named for the purpose of sending SWAT teams to a target's home, involves filing a false police report, usually involving an imminent threat.
In August 2023, while the student was studying abroad in Norway, Gabriel tipped off Norwegian investigators through an online form. In the message, he falsely claimed the student was planning a mass shooting in Oslo and wrote: “August 15th, [student’s name] They plan to head to Oslo and carry out a shootout involving several of his aides. They plan to take out as many people as possible at the concert and then go to a department store.”
The false report provoked a significant response from law enforcement in both Norway and the United States, with the US government saying authorities spent “hundreds of hours” investigating the unfounded threat. When questioned by the FBI, Gabriel admitted that the accusations were completely fabricated.
But Gabriel's pattern of false threats didn't end there. In March 2024, as the government was preparing to indict him in the Norway case, Gabriel sent an email to University of Iowa administrators alleging that the same student had threatened to “blow up the school.” The email included screenshots of a group chat, which Gabriel submitted as evidence of the threats. In reality, the messages in the screenshots were jokes made in response to previous false accusations, and Gabriel was aware of this context.
Gabriel was charged with two counts of “interstate and international communication of threats of injury” and pleaded guilty to both in federal court in Philadelphia this week. He is scheduled to be sentenced in January and could have faced up to five years in prison. However, local media reports say he has reached a deal with federal prosecutors that will instead recommend 15 months of house arrest.
Commenting on the case, Gabriel's lawyer emphasized the seriousness of his client's actions and his fortunate outcome, saying, “This man is truly lucky to be on house arrest,” and, “I don't know what he was thinking. It was never the smartest thing to do.” U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero also weighed in, offering advice to those who might be tempted to engage in similar online behavior: “My advice to any keyboard warriors hoping to avoid federal charges is to always consider the possible consequences before you hit 'post' or 'send.'”
Read more at Ars Technica here.
