Florida man sentenced to two years in prison for death threats against Swalwell

A Florida man was sentenced to two years in prison Wednesday for threatening to kill Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and his children, federal prosecutors announced.

Michael Shapiro, 72, was sentenced during a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, nearly nine months after prosecutors said he left multiple threatening messages for Swalwell at his office in Washington.

Shapiro, from his home in Greenacres, Fla., on Dec. 19, left five voicemails in Swalwell’s Washington office, according to court documents. In three of the messages, Shapiro threatened to kill the California Democrat and his children, according to prosecutors.

Authorities said they linked Shapiro to the voicemails by tracing the number back to his Florida home and arrested him in January.

He pled guilty to the charge of transmitting threatening communications in May.

In one of the messages, Shapiro said he was going to “come after you and kill you …” and in another, he said he was going to “come and kill your children …” according to court documents.

In some calls, Shapiro 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 conducted a 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 emphasized he immediately cooperated with law enforcement and was never accused of wrongdoing. Some of Swalwell’s political opponents used the unsubstantiated rumors to attack him, which later cost him his seat on the House Intelligence Committee.

Prosecutors in January said Shapiro also pleaded guilty in federal court in 2019 to threatening another victim.

Swalwell has faced various threats in recent years, including in 2022, when 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.