A Florida man has been charged with threatening to kill Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and his children in chilling telephone messages to the lawmaker's congressional office.
Federal prosecutors allege Michael Shapiro, 72, called Swalwell's Washington office Dec. 19, 2023, and left five voicemails referring to the politician's past relationship with suspected Chinese spy Fang Fang — and threatening him and his kids, court records posted by the Washington Examiner and The Hill show.
The lawmaker was not named in the court documents, but confirmed to the outlets that he and his family were the targets.
In the voicemails, Shapiro allegedly called Swalwell a greaseball and said he would "come after" and "kill" Swalwell and his children, the Examiner reported.
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 Hill reported.
The House Ethics Committee last year ended a two-year probe 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 and was not accused of wrongdoing. He later lost his seat on the House Intelligence Committee.
The suspect was arrested and appeared at the federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday.
In a post on X, Swalwell said the threats will not stop him.
"No threat is going to stop me from representing my constituents," he wrote. "MAGA Republicans have chosen violence over voting and this is what it looks like. But I'm not going away and neither should you."
Shapiro, of Greenacres, Florida, previously pleaded guilty in federal court to threatening another member of Congress through voicemails in 2019, according to the Examiner.
"There is no place in America for threats of political violence" Swalwell said in a statement Thursday to The Hill. "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."
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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