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According to court records, a Florida resident was apprehended on Wednesday morning on allegations of threatening to harm a U.S. Congressperson and their children.
The individual, identified as Michael Shapiro, aged 72, reportedly left five voicemails for the Congressperson from his residence in Greenacres on December 19.
The U.S. Department of Justice officials disclosed that some of these messages, detailed in a criminal complaint, contained explicit language and derogatory terms.
One of the voicemails is quoted in the complaint as saying, “Hey, greaseball, you (expletive) a (expletive) Chinese spy. Fang Fang.”
In another call, Shapiro allegedly stated, “Hey, mother-(expletive), you (expletive) a Chinese spy. You mother-(expletive). I’m gonna come after you and kill you, (expletive).”
The identity of the Congressperson involved was not disclosed by DOJ officials. However, it is noted that a suspected Chinese operative named Christine Fang was associated with the campaign of now-Representative Eric Swalwell during his 2012 congressional candidacy.
Fang, also known as “Fang Fang,” purportedly served as a fundraiser for Swalwell before leaving the country in 2015 amid a U.S. intelligence inquiry into her activities.
While Swalwell reportedly severed ties with Fang after being informed of the investigation by the FBI, a subsequent House ethics committee investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing in Swalwell’s campaign.
The complaint against Shapiro does not specify the targeted Congressperson but mentions his involvement in three prior threat cases. Investigators claim to have linked Shapiro to the December calls based on similarities to those made in previous incidents.
Shapiro is charged with transmitting threatening communications aimed at injuring another person. He made his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart for the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday morning, as stated by the DOJ.
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