A Florida man named Michael Shapiro has been arrested after allegedly leaving a series of threatening voicemails that targeted Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and the California Democrat’s family. Shapiro directly threatened to kill Swalwell and the prominent Dem’s children, according to allegations against him and transcripts provided by authorities.
Swalwell has been a prominent target of Republicans, who have used his own past targeting by an individual eventually suspected of seeking to conduct espionage for the Chinese government against him, though indications clearly point to Swalwell cooperating with U.S. authorities once made aware of concerns about this third party’s background. Swalwell was nonetheless forced off his post on the House Intelligence Committee amid theatrically extensive outrage from the Right as Republicans took control of the House following the 2022 midterm elections.
Voicemail messages allegedly left by Shapiro make apparent reference to the claims Swalwell was somehow more culpable than he actually was — evidently, not at all — in the suspected Chinese espionage situation. One of the reported messages just repeats the name of the concern-sparking, foreign individual over and over again. Another refers to Swalwell as a spy for the Chinese government. There is absolutely no indication of any kind of lasting tie between Swalwell and foreign interests remotely along these lines.
Swalwell shared a prepared statement. “There is no place in America for threats of political violence,” Swalwell said Friday. “We must always resolve our differences at the ballot box. While I will continue to protect my family and staff, these continued threats will never stop me from representing my constituents.”
There is a history of targets of the far-right facing serious threats to their safety — and even a precedent of these threats also extending to children. Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican who left Congress at the beginning of last year, became well known for his opposition from within the GOP to Trump’s election lies, even serving on the House committee that investigated January 6 and circumstances leading up to it. And Kinzinger has been public about explicit threats to their safety he and his children faced.
