72-year-old Florida man arrested for threatening to kill Bay Area Rep. Eric Swalwell
A 72-year-old Florida man was arrested Wednesday morning for apparently threatening to kill a member of Congress -- apparently Bay Area Rep. Eric Swalwell -- and his children, according to the Southern District of Florida United States Attorney's Office.
Michael Shapiro, a resident of the Palm Beach County city of Greenacres in Florida, allegedly left multiple threatening voicemail messages at a Congressperson's congressional office in Washington, D.C., according to a release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office. The criminal complaint noted that Shapiro allegedly made the calls from his home on Dec. 19, 2023.
The statement said that in one of the messages, Shapiro stated that he was going to "come after you and kill you …" In another message, he stated that he was going to "come and kill your children …" The criminal complaint against Shapiro further alleges that he pleaded guilty in federal court in 2019 for making threatening communications to another victim.
While the statement from the Southern District of Florida United States Attorney's Office did not specify who was targeted by the threatening voicemail messages, Rep. Swalwell posted on social media regarding the arrest.
"No threat is going to stop me from representing my constituents. MAGA Republicans have chosen violence over voting and this is what it looks like," his post read, linking to coverage of Shapiro's arrest.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said Shapiro made his initial appearance Wednesday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart for the Southern District of Florida.
Swalwell, who represents California's 14th congressional district covering most of eastern Alameda County and a portion of central Contra Costa County, has regularly been targeted by threats. A 22-year-old Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty to making threatening phone calls to Swalwell's Bay Area offices in the fall of 2022.
Last year, Rep. Swalwell reported former 49ers fullback Bruce Miller after Miller threatened him on social media. Swalwell also spoke of receiving "multiple death threats" daily last summer.
"My kids don't play in our front yard because we get letters to the residence that are also threats," he told CBS News on "The Takeout" this week. "People have shown when they call and say, 'I know where you live' and then you get a letter at the house, it shows they probably do."
