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

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

Swalwell was not named in the court documents, but his office confirmed to The Hill the lawmaker and his children were the target of the alleged threats.

Michael Shapiro, 72, on Dec. 19 left five voicemail messages for Swalwell at the California Democrat’s office in Washington, according to court documents. In one of the messages, Shapiro is accused of saying he was going to “come after you and kill you …” and in another message, he said he was going to “come and kill your children …”

Some calls appeared to reference a suspected Chinese spy, Christine Fang, who was accused of having links to Swalwell. Federal prosecutors said the calls included the word “Fang” multiple times and “Hey motherf‑‑‑er, you f‑‑‑ed a Chinese spy.”

The House Ethics Committee last year ended its two-year investigation into Fang’s alleged ties to Swalwell following reports Fang worked on Swalwell’s campaign and targeted new politicians in California.

Swalwell confirmed to the FBI he was targeted by a Chinese intelligence operative but stressed he immediately cooperated with law enforcement and was never accused of wrongdoing. Several of Swalwell’s political opponents used the unsubstantiated rumors to attack him and later cost Swalwell his seat on the House Intelligence Committee.

The number behind these voicemails linked back to near Shapiro’s home in Greenacres, Fla., according to the criminal complaint.

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

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

“There is no place in America for threats of political violence. We must always resolve our differences at the ballot box. While I will continue to protect my family and staff these continued threats will never stop me from representing my constituents,” Swalwell said in a statement to The Hill on Thursday.

Swalwell has faced a series of threats in recent years, including one incident in 2022 where one of his staffers received a call from a man who said he was coming to Swalwell’s congressional office to kill him. In another instance last year, Swalwell claimed a former NFL player threatened him with execution on social media.