A Man's Fantasy Football Bomb Threat Landed Him in Legal Trouble

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A Philadelphia man has pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from fantasy football-related bomb threats, the Justice Department announced.

According to his plea agreement, Matthew Gabriel, 25, got into an argument with someone in a fantasy football chat group. After learning they were planning to move to Norway, Gabriel made an anonymous tip to the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) claiming the person was planning to carry out a mass shooting in Oslo.

“On August 15, a man named [Victim 1] “He was driving around Oslo and planning a shooting with multiple people on his side,” the report said. “They were planning to pick up as many people as possible at a concert and then go to a store. I didn't know anyone else at the time.” [sic] “This is something I cannot in good conscience allow to randomly kill people. He plans to arrive there unarmed, stay normally for a few days, and then launch the attack. Please be prepared… He must have weapons with him. Please be careful.”

As a result of Gabriel's email, law enforcement agencies in both the United States and Norway spent hundreds of thousands of man-hours over five days investigating the possible shooting. The FBI eventually interviewed Gabriel, during which he appeared to admit that the tip was false and that he was the one who forwarded it to PST.

But then, on March 22, 2024, Gabriel once again took on an alias and sent a similar “tip” to the University of Iowa with the subject line “Possible Threat.” The body of the email read: “Hi, I saw this in a group chat I'm in and I just want to make sure everyone is safe and well. I don't want anything bad to happen to anyone.” [sic]Thank you. There is a man named [Person 1] I think I sent this from Nebraska and I want to make sure it's a joke and no one gets hurt.”

The attached file showed a message from an unidentified person in Gabriel's fantasy football group chat that read, “Hello University of Iowa, there's a guy named.” [Victim 1] “He told me he was going to blow up the school.” The FBI alleges that Gabriel was aware that this was not a legitimate threat and that it was an attempted satire by a group member who was familiar with the initial email he sent to PST. Still, he wrote to the university knowing that they would investigate it as a legitimate threat.

“While already facing prosecution for one hoax threat, Matthew Gabriel inexplicably decided to send another, primarily at the urging of his fantasy football league,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “His actions were extremely destructive and drained significant law enforcement resources on two continents, distracting them from real events and investigations. Hoax threats are not a prank or protected speech, they are a crime,” Romero continued. “My advice to keyboard warriors who want to avoid federal charges: always consider the potential consequences before hitting ‘send’ or ‘submit’.”

Gabriel faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine, plus a $100 “special assessment” fee.

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