Florida man accused of threatening to kill Swalwell, lawmaker’s children

A Florida man has been charged with threatening to kill Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and his children, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Swalwell's name does not appear in court documents, but his office confirmed to The Hill that he and his children are the targets of the alleged threats.

Michael Shapiro, 72, reportedly left five voicemail messages for Swalwell at the California Democratic Party's office in Washington on Dec. 19. court documents. Shapiro is accused of saying in one message, “I'm going to come after you…” and in another message, “I'm going to come and kill your children…”

Some of the calls appeared to refer to Christine Fang, a suspected Chinese spy who is accused of having ties to Swalwell. Federal prosecutors said the phone call contained the word “fan” multiple times and included the words, “Hey mom, you spied for China.”

The House Ethics Committee last year ended a two-year investigation into the alleged relationship between Mr. Fang and Mr. Swalwell after reports that Mr. Fang had helped Mr. Swalwell's campaign and targeted a rising California politician. did.

Mr. Swalwell acknowledged to the FBI that he was targeted by Chinese agents, but stressed that he immediately cooperated with law enforcement and has never been accused of wrongdoing. Some of Swalwell's political opponents used unsubstantiated rumors to attack him and later unseat Swalwell on the House Intelligence Committee.

The numbers behind those voicemails were located near Shapiro's home in Greenacres, Florida, according to the criminal complaint.

Shapiro was charged with communicating threats. He appeared before a judge Wednesday morning and was released on bail, the Department of Justice said in a news release.

Shapiro pleaded guilty in federal court in 2019 to threatening another victim, prosecutors said.

“The threat of political violence has no place in America. We must always resolve our differences at the polls. I will continue to protect my family and staff, but this continued I will never allow intimidation to prevent me from representing my constituents,” Swalwell said in a statement to The Hill on Thursday.

Mr Swalwell has been subject to a series of threats in recent years, including one in 2022 when a staff member received a phone call from a man telling him he was coming to Mr Swalwell's congressional office to kill him. Ta. In another instance last year, Swalwell claimed a former NFL player threatened to execute him on social media.