A 25-year-old Philadelphia man has pleaded guilty to making bomb and mass shooting threats over a dispute in his fantasy football league, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Matthew Gabriel submitted an anonymous tip to Norwegian police in August 2023, falsely claiming a member of his fantasy football group—who was there studying abroad—was planning a mass shooting in Oslo.
The tip read in part: “On Aug. 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.”
U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero, who made the announcement in a Sept. 18 news release, said Gabriel’s actions were “extremely disruptive” and wasted law enforcement resources. She offered advice to others who may have thought of similar tricks.
“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,’” she said.
In the same threat, Gabriel said he didn’t know if any other people were involved but felt the need to make the report out of a guilty conscience before providing more made-believe details.
“I just can’t have random people dying on my conscience,” the note read, according to the attorney’s office.
He described the victim he was targeting as an unarmed 5’7 redhead traveling from America, who was arriving on Aug. 10 or 11, who would first “spend a couple of days normal” and then execute the attack, according to prosecutors.
“He should have weapons with him, please be careful,” he wrote.
Law enforcement in Norway and the United States spent hundreds of hours investigating the threat over a five-day period, prosecutors said. When interview by the FBI, Gabriel admitted to submitting the “tip” to the Norwegian Police Security Service and that it was false.
In a separate incident in March 2024, Gabriel sent an email to the University of Iowa again warning of a phony threat, this time a bomb threat, while already being prosecuted for the first incident.
According to the news release, the email included a screenshot from the fantasy football group chat containing a joke message about blowing up the school. The joke was made in jest by another member of the group, referring to Gabriel’s prior threat, but despite knowing the threat wasn’t real he sent it to the university as a genuine 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,” Romero said.
Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia Wayne Jacobs said the FBI will continue to work alongside partners, including international partners, to protect the Philadelphia community.
“You do not get to express emotions through violence or threats of violence,” he said.
Gabriel faces a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.