A Florida man threatened to murder a U.S. congressman and his family, authorities say
A Florida man irate with a U.S. congressman decided to share his thoughts with him in a series of voicemails. Instead of arguing about policies he disagreed with, he engaged in a verbal assault — including racist remarks and threats to kill the congressman.
Those words landed him behind bars, authorities said.
Michael Shapiro, a 72-year-old from Greenacres, was charged with using a communication device to threaten to injure another person. He was arrested Wednesday morning. In an initial federal court appearance, his bond was set at $250,000. It is unclear whether he remains in jail.
AP News reported the congressman was U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, of California. In a statement, he said, “No threat is going to stop me from representing my constituents,” Swalwell said. “MAGA Republicans have chosen violence over voting and this is what it looks like.”
On Dec. 19, Shapiro left five voicemails for the U.S. congressman at his Washington, D.C. office. Within them contained threats to him, his family and racist jabs.
He said he was going to “come after you and kill you …” and continued stating he was going to “come and kill your children…,” a complaint read.
Back in 2019, Shapiro pleaded guilty to making threatening communications to someone else, the complaint read. It’s not clear if that person also was a political figure.
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