A Florida man was arrested on Jan. 3 for allegedly threatening to kill Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), according to the Department of Justice.
The suspect, Michael Shapiro, who lives near Palm Springs village, has a history of allegedly threatening members of Congress, according to the criminal complaint. This is the second time he has been charged.
Mr. Shapiro appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart at the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in West Palm Beach for a 15-minute hearing, where his bond was set at $250,000. He did not enter a plea, and his arraignment has been scheduled for Jan. 24.
Mr. Swalwell’s congressional office in Washington got five expletive-filled voicemails on the evening of Dec. 19, according to the criminal complaint.
The first call consisted of Mr. Shapiro saying “Fang Fang” five times, and then “You [expletive] moron. You [expletive] a [unintelligible]. Fang Fang.”
In the second call, Mr. Shapiro said in part, “... you [expletive] a Chinese spy. ... I’m gonna come after you and kill you.”
The other three messages contained similar language relating to Chinese spies, threats, and references to Fang Fang.
There were three previous cases of Mr. Shapiro threatening Mr. Swalwell, according to U.S. Capitol Police. He pleaded not guilty in 2019 to threatening the congressman.
The Epoch Times has reached out to Mr. Swalwell’s office for comment.
Mr. Swalwell has talked about the consequences of getting threats in general.
“My chief of staff estimates she spends eight to 10 hours a week dealing with the FBI, the Capitol Police, and prosecutors around the threats,” he added. “We’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars from the campaign side for security.”
