A Florida man has been arrested by federal officials after threatening to kill Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California) and his family in several voicemails left at the congressman’s Washington, DC office.
72-year-old Michael Shapiro of Greenacres, Florida allegedly left five threatening voicemails on December 19. According to NBC News, Shapiro said in one message that he would “come after you and kill you,” and in another threatened to “come and kill your children.”
In a statement Wednesday night, Swalwell said “there is no place in America for threats of political violence.”
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?
“We must always resolve our differences at the ballot box,” the California congressman said. “While I will continue to protect my family and staff these continued threats will never stop me from representing my constituents.”
In another one of Shapiro’s voicemails, he referenced a “Chinese spy” named “Fang Fang.” This appears to be a reference to a two-year-long House Committee on Ethics investigation into Swalwell’s alleged ties to a suspected Chinese spy named Christine Fang. Investigators probed whether Fang helped Swalwell’s 2014 campaign with fundraising and possibly placed an intern on his campaign. The investigation concluded last year and cleared Swalwell of any wrongdoing.
The news of Shapiro’s arrest and alleged threats comes amid a wave of political violence. In the wake of the Colorado supreme court disqualifying former President Donald Trump from the states’ 2024 Republican primary ballot — which Trump has since appealed — several justices reported receiving death threats, prompting the Denver Police Department to increase security patrols around justices’ homes. Earlier this week, a man shot out the window of the building that houses the Colorado supreme court, fired multiple shots, started a fire and even held a security guard at gunpoint before he was apprehended.
Last month, a 30-year-old New Hampshire man was arrested for threatening to kill GOP presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Chris Christie in several text messages. He’s facing a prison sentence of up to five years and fines of up to $250,000 as well as up to three years of supervised release.
READ MORE: ‘You should be assassinated’: Judge and clerk ‘inundated’ with ‘credible’ threats after Trump rant