Romanian Swatter Pleads Guilty After Terrorizing U.S. Officials and Churches
A Romanian national has pled guilty to an expansive and deeply disturbing campaign of “swatting” that targeted more than 75 individuals and institutions in the United States, including members of Congress, churches, and even a former U.S. president. The Department of Justice confirmed Monday that 38-year-old Alexandru-Aurelian Pirvu—who operated under at least three known aliases—was the perpetrator behind a calculated international campaign aimed at sowing chaos and fear through hoax emergency calls.
The tactic, known as swatting, involves placing false 911 calls to dispatch armed law enforcement to an unsuspecting victim’s home or place of work. It is not only dangerous but has proven fatal in previous cases. In this instance, Pirvu’s coordinated attacks included fake bomb threats, false claims of hostage situations, and fabricated active shooter reports. These false alarms forced the evacuation of schools, places of worship, and even government facilities.
Pirvu’s swatting spree is not an isolated act of digital mischief—it’s an example of foreign psychological warfare. Operating from Romania, he wielded his keyboard like a weapon, disrupting American civic life and threatening the safety of public servants. He utilized a network of proxy servers, spoofed caller IDs, and encrypted communication methods to evade detection for months, perhaps even years.
The Justice Department’s detailed 26-page complaint lists Pirvu’s disturbing targets. These include multiple U.S. Senators and Representatives, a federal judge, and houses of worship across the country. In one particularly egregious incident, Pirvu triggered a swatting incident targeting a former U.S. president, though authorities have not publicly confirmed whether it was President Donald Trump.
While some media outlets downplay the implications, conservative analysts are sounding the alarm. “This is not a prank. This is asymmetric warfare against the institutions of the United States,” said a senior intelligence analyst who reviewed the DOJ filing. “When a foreign actor can harass our elected officials and churches from overseas, it exposes a glaring vulnerability.”
Despite the severity of his actions, Pirvu is currently only facing up to five years in prison under the plea agreement—a punishment many see as insufficient given the scale of the damage. Several conservatives have voiced frustration at the apparent leniency of the federal criminal justice system, especially when compared to harsher sentences handed down for non-violent political protesters on U.S. soil.
Pirvu’s plea agreement acknowledges his use of “multiple false identities,” including the names “Jayden Young,” “Axel Benjamin,” and “Jax Akari.” He systematically used social media and anonymous messaging platforms to gather personal data on his victims, including home addresses and family information—much of which had been leaked or doxxed by partisan online activists.
The Department of Justice’s press release carefully omits one glaring detail: Pirvu often targeted individuals and organizations associated with conservative or Christian viewpoints. At least a dozen churches listed as swatting victims were evangelical or Catholic institutions known for their pro-life stances. While the DOJ frames the attack as non-partisan, a deeper look reveals a troubling pattern.
The Biden administration has thus far remained quiet on this high-profile case, and no public statement has been made by the Department of Homeland Security. Critics argue that the muted response is yet another example of selective concern when it comes to threats facing conservatives or religious communities.
The mainstream press has offered relatively sparse coverage of the Pirvu case, relegating the story to the back pages. Yet the scale of the crime dwarfs many of the so-called domestic threats the federal government routinely highlights. “It’s telling,” one former DHS official noted, “that a foreign cybercriminal can wage a months-long campaign of digital terror against U.S. officials and churches, and it barely registers in the national media.”
Pirvu’s sentencing is scheduled for later this year, but the damage has already been done. His actions forced dozens of high-profile Americans and religious communities to live under constant threat, while law enforcement resources were repeatedly misallocated to phantom emergencies. In some cases, heavily armed SWAT teams stormed into family homes, risking catastrophic misunderstandings.
While this case may be drawing to a close legally, it raises urgent questions about cybersecurity, borderless crime, and the unwillingness of federal institutions to prioritize threats against conservative Americans. Critics are urging Congress to investigate how such a wide-ranging threat went undetected for so long, and what safeguards are now in place to prevent future attacks.
One lawmaker who asked not to be named due to security concerns stated, “We’ve seen how the intelligence community will mobilize against parents at school board meetings. But when a foreign national terrorizes conservative elected officials and Christian pastors, there’s a deafening silence.”
The Pirvu case illustrates the growing threat of transnational digital attacks. It also underscores the Biden administration’s tendency to downplay acts of political intimidation when the victims don’t fit their ideological framework. For conservatives, this is yet another example of systemic bias and selective enforcement that weakens national trust in institutions meant to protect all Americans equally.
Until those institutions demonstrate equal concern for victims across the political and religious spectrum, many will view cases like Pirvu’s as less about justice—and more about narrative control.
Keywords: Romanian swatting, Alexandru Pirvu, DOJ, U.S. officials targeted, Christian churches, conservative targets, cyber terror, Biden DOJ silence, digital warfare, political intimidation, international swatting attack, security threat, weaponized swatting.