One Man's Fantasy Football Bomb Threat Lands Him in Legal Trouble
A man in Philadelphia has pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from fantasy-football-related bomb threats, the Justice Department announced.
According to the plea agreement, 25-year-old Matthew Gabriel got into an argument with someone in his fantasy football chat group. After finding out they were planning to move to Norway, Gabriel submitted an anonymous tip to the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) claiming that this person was planning to carry out a mass shooting in Oslo.
“On August 15th, a man named [Victim 1] is headed around Oslo and has a shooting planned with multiple people on his side involved,” the tip read, according to the agreement. “They plan to take as many as they can at a concert and then head to a department store. I don’t know any more people then [sic] that, I just can’t have random people dying on my conscience. He plans to arrive there unarmed, spend a couple days normal, and then execute the attack. Please be ready…He should have weapons with him. Please be careful.”
As a result of Gabriel’s email, law enforcement in both America and Norway spent hundreds of thousands of man-hours investigating the potential shooting over five days. The FBI eventually sat with Gabriel for an interview, during which he apparently admitted the tip was false and that he was the one who submitted it to the PST.
But then, on March 22, 2024, Gabriel once again adopted a pseudonym and sent a similar “tip” to the University of Iowa with the subject line, “Possible Threat.” The body of the email read: “Hello, I saw this in a group chat I’m in and just want to make sure everyone is safe and fine. I don’t want anything bad to happen to any body [sic]. Thank you. A man named [Person 1] from I believe Nebraska sent this, and I want to make sure that it is a joke and no one will get hurt.”
Attached was a screenshot from Gabriel’s fantasy football group chat showing a message from an unidentified person that read, “Hello University of Iowa, a man named [Victim 1] told me he was gonna blow up the school.” The FBI contends that Gabriel was aware this was not a legitimate threat and knew it was an attempt at satire from a group member who was aware of Gabriel’s initial email to the PST. Still, he wrote to the university knowing they would investigate it as a legitimate threat.
“While already being prosecuted for one hoax threat spurred by, of all things, his fantasy football league, Matthew Gabriel inexplicably decided to send another,” U.S. Attorney Romero said. “His actions were extremely disruptive and consumed significant law enforcement resources on two continents, diverting them from actual incidents and investigations. Hoax threats aren’t a joke or protected speech, they’re a crime,” Romero continued. “My advice to keyboard warriors who’d like to avoid federal charges: always think of the potential consequences before you hit ‘post’ or ‘send.’”
Gabriel faces a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine in addition to a “special assessment” fee of $100.