A 25-year-old man is set to walk into a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on Wednesday and plead guilty to a federal charge tied to a fake bomb threat against the Walt Disney Company, capping what prosecutors describe as a months-long harassment and doxxing campaign aimed at a Disney lawyer and other employees.
Court papers say the expected plea marks the latest development in a federal investigation that has been unfolding since 2022.
Plea Deal And Felony Charge
Federal prosecutors identify the defendant as 25-year-old Seth Daniel Stewart, who also goes by the alias “Angel Cross,” and say he has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conveying false information concerning the use of an explosive device, according to MyNewsLA.
The plea agreement notes that the felony count carries a statutory maximum sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison. In those documents, Stewart also acknowledges cyberstalking the Disney attorney and putting her and her family in fear of death or serious bodily injury, prosecutors say.
How A ‘Buffy’ Pitch Turned Into A Harassment Campaign
According to court filings reviewed by reporters, Stewart’s contact with Disney began in September 2022, when he tried to acquire rights to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Things escalated after Disney declined, the records say, with a stream of threatening emails and voicemails that dragged on for months.
Inside the Magic reports that those filings describe Stewart allegedly posting 22 pages of personal identifying information about the Disney lawyer to a dark-web doxxing site. He is also accused of repeatedly ordering pizza deliveries to the homes and offices of Disney employees from December 2023 through June 2024, turning their addresses into targets of low-grade harassment.
In May 2024, Stewart allegedly left voicemails threatening to “kill” the lawyer and “all the woke executives” at Disney, according to the same reporting.
The Fake Bomb Call And Court-Ordered Distance
Plea documents state that about two weeks after the May 2024 voicemails, Stewart called Disney’s guest services number, pretended to be an employee, and falsely claimed that someone was planning to bomb the company’s offices.
On June 26, 2024, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order that barred Stewart from contacting or harassing the lawyer, according to MyNewsLA. The order sits alongside the federal case as an additional legal wall between Stewart and his alleged target.
The Law Behind The Charge
The federal count is brought under 18 U.S.C. § 844(e), a statute that makes it a crime to use the mail, telephone or other instrument of interstate commerce to make threats or to maliciously convey false information about explosives. A conviction under that section can carry a prison term of up to 10 years. For the statutory language and context, see Cornell Law School's LII.
Once Stewart formally enters his plea, the case will move into the sentencing phase. Judges typically set sentencing dates after a presentence report is prepared, a process that can take several weeks or more. Court filings and public reporting make clear that federal prosecutors have treated the alleged conduct as a serious threat to employee safety and workplace security, not just an online tantrum gone too far.
