A Philadelphia resident, Matthew Gabriel, aged 25, has pleaded guilty to federal felony charges after taking a dispute over fantasy football to an extreme level. Gabriel was accused of sending two false tips to authorities in Norway and Iowa, alleging that a fellow fantasy league member was plotting a mass shooting in Norway and planning to “blow up the school” at the University of Iowa. The announcement was made on Wednesday by United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero.
Gabriel confessed to a federal judge that he had indeed sent the false tips, pleading guilty to two counts of transmitting interstate threats. The prosecutors did not disclose the root cause of the feud. However, it was revealed that Gabriel submitted his first anonymous tip on August 3, 2023, to the Norwegian Police Security Service via the internet.
The accused falsely alleged that a member of his fantasy football group, who was studying in Norway, was planning to execute an attack after arriving in the country later that month. Gabriel identified the supposed perpetrator, whom he had learned about from the fantasy football group chat, and provided a description of him. He informed the Norwegian police that multiple people would be involved in the attack, planning to target a concert and then a department store.
Gabriel’s false tip triggered a swift response, leading to more than 900 investigative hours over five days. Eventually, Gabriel confessed to the FBI that he had sent the false tip. Despite facing federal charges for the first false tip, Gabriel sent another email in March to the University of Iowa, posing as a different person and warning officials about a “Possible Threat.”
Gabriel sent a screenshot from the fantasy football group chat of a message that read: “Hello University of Iowa a man named [Victim 1] told me he was gonna blow up the school.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that Gabriel was aware that there was no threat and that the message was sent as a joke, referring to the false tip that Gabriel had previously sent.
Romero stated that Gabriel’s actions were highly disruptive and consumed significant law enforcement resources on two continents, diverting them from actual incidents and investigations. She emphasized that hoax threats are not a joke or protected speech, but a crime.
Gabriel negotiated a deal with prosecutors that will likely spare him jail time. Prosecutors agreed to recommend a 15-month house arrest sentence and three years of probation. Gabriel’s attorney, Lonny Fish, referred to the incident as “a practical joke” that “probably went a little further than it was meant to go.”