Pennsylvania man pleads guilty to bomb threat and mass shooting related to fantasy football

A Philadelphia man has pleaded guilty to making fake bomb and mass shooting threats related to fantasy football in Norway and Iowa, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced.

In a press release, federal prosecutors said Matthew Gabriel, 25, pleaded guilty to two counts of interstate and foreign transmission of a threat of bodily harm. The incidents occurred in August 2023 and March 2024.

According to federal prosecutors, an argument arose between Gabriel and a member of his fantasy football league in their group chat in August 2023. After learning that his league colleague was traveling to Norway to study, Gabriel submitted an anonymous online tip to the Norwegian Police Security Service, claiming that the member of his group chat was planning a mass murder.

According to prosecutors, the false tip claimed that a man was on his way to Oslo to carry out a shooting at a concert and in a department store on August 15, 2023. Gabriel claimed that his league colleague had involved several people in the incident and would be arriving in the country from the United States a few days earlier. Gabriel gave his league colleague's name, stated his height and said he would have weapons with him.

“I don't know any more people, I can't have it on my conscience that people die by chance. He plans to arrive there unarmed, spend a few normal days and then carry out the attack. Please be ready,” the note said, according to the prosecutor's office.

The tip led to a five-day investigation by law enforcement in Norway and the U.S. During the investigation, Gabriel told the FBI that he had given the tip and that it was fake, prosecutors said.

The second incident occurred on March 22, 2024, when Gabriel sent a bomb threat to the University of Iowa, according to prosecutors.

According to prosecutors, Gabriel sent the university an email pretending to be someone else with the subject line “Potential Threat.” In the email, Gabriel provided a screenshot from his fantasy football group chat and wrote: “Hello, University of Iowa, a man named [Victim 1] told me he was going to blow up the school,” the press release said.

The email read: “Hi, I saw this in a group chat I'm in and just want to make sure everyone is OK and safe. I don't want anything bad to happen to anyone. Thank you. A man named [PERSON 1] from Nebraska, and I want to make sure it's a joke and no one gets hurt,” the press release said.

Prosecutors said Gabriel knew the victim would not carry out the threat and that it was “only made by another member of the fantasy football group in response to Gabriel's previous threat.”

“While already charged with a fake threat instigated by, of all things, his fantasy football league, Matthew Gabriel inexplicably decided to send another one,” U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero said in the press release. “His actions were extremely disruptive and consumed significant law enforcement resources on two continents, diverting them from actual incidents and investigations. False threats are not a joke or protected speech, they are a crime. My advice to keyboard warriors seeking to avoid federal charges: always think of the potential consequences before hitting 'post' or 'send.'”

Gabriel faces up to five years in prison, three years probation, a $250,000 fine and a $100 surcharge, prosecutors said.