A 72-year-old Florida man has been arrested and charged with threatening to kill a Democratic member of Congress and the Congressperson’s children.
According to law enforcement, Michael Shapiro, of Greenacres, Florida, left threatening voicemail messages for U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell.
According to the criminal complaint, Michael Shapiro left five voicemail messages for a U.S. Congressperson at the Congressperson’s congressional office in Washington, D.C. 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 …” Shapiro allegedly placed the threatening calls from his home in Greenacres. The complaint further alleges that Shapiro pleaded guilty in federal court in 2019 for making threatening communications to another victim.
Shapiro made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart for the Southern District of Florida.
Markenzy Lapointe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Roger B. Handberg, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, and J. Thomas Manger, Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP), made the announcement.
The USCP is investigating the case, with assistance from USCP’s Tampa Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Dispoto for the Southern District of Florida and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Wheeler for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
“MAGA Republicans have chosen violence over voting and this is what it looks like,” Rep. Swalwell, a Democrat, posted on social media. “But I’m not going away and neither should you.”
