PHILADELPHIA - A 25-year-old Philadelphia man has entered a plea after officials say he made a bomb threat and mass shooting threat.
On Wednesday, United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Matthew Gabriel, pleaded guilty to two counts of interstate and foreign communication of a threat to injure.
According to the guilty plea agreement, Gabriel had an online disagreement with a member of his fantasy football chat group.
Officials say Gabriel had then learned that the member he had a disagreement with was going to study abroad in Norway in August 2023.
On August 3, 2023, Gabriel submitted an anonymous "tip" through the internet to the Norwegian Police Security Service, also known as Politiets Sikkerhetstjeneste (PST), claiming that a member of his fantasy football chat group was going to carry out a mass shooting in Norway.
Gabriel sent in the tip while located in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Officials say the following is the tip that Gabriel submitted:
"On August 15th a man named [Victim 1] is headed around oslo and has a shooting planned with multiple people on his side involved. 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 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 is around a 5 foot 7 read head coming from America, on the 10th or 11th I believe. he should have weapons with him. please be careful"
Law enforcement in Norway and the United States spent hundreds of hours investigating the threatened mass shooting over the course of a five-day period.
While the FBI interviewed Gabriel, he admitted to submitting the "tip" to the PST and said that the tip was false.
However, this wasn’t the only threat Gabriel submitted.
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On March 22, 2024, officials say Gabriel sent an email posing as another individual to the University of Iowa with the subject line "Possible Threat," again while located in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The email stated:
"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. 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."
Officials say the email also contained a screenshot from the fantasy football group of a message that stated "Hello University of Iowa a man named [Victim 1] told me he was gonna blow up the school."
According to U.S. Attorney Romero, Gabriel knew that the victim was not going to blow up the university and that the message had been sent in jest by another member of the fantasy football group regarding Gabriel’s prior threat.
However, despite Gabriel knowing that there was no actual threat to the University of Iowa, he still sent the email knowing that the university would view it as a true 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," said U.S. Attorney Romero. "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. My advice to keyboard warriors who’d like to avoid federal charges: always think of the potential consequences before you hit ‘post’ or ‘send.’"
"You do not get to express emotions through violence or threats of violence," said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. "We thank our international partners for their assistance in bringing together this case. The FBI will continue to work alongside partners at all levels to protect our community."
Gabriel faces a maximum possible sentence of five years’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.