A Syrian hacker who hijacked the Associated Press’ (AP) Twitter account and falsely claimed in 2013 that President Barack Obama had been injured in explosions at the White House has been sentenced to 42 months in federal prison.
Ahmad Umar Agha, also known online as “Th3Pr0,” was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Virginia for his role in a hacking campaign carried out on behalf of the regime of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The attacks targeted approximately 47 Western media organizations, businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and U.S. and allied government entities between August 2011 and January 2014.
The fake post appeared on April 23, 2013, after hackers gained control of the AP’s Twitter account. The message falsely reported that Obama had been injured in 2 explosions at the White House.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the post triggered a brief crash in the U.S. stock market, temporarily wiping approximately $136 billion off the value of stocks making up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Agha later discussed the attack in an interview with Business Insider, saying the sharp market decline had been the goal and describing it as a major victory.
The hacking campaign also targeted the website hosting the U.S. Marine Corps’ recruitment page. Agha redirected visitors to a page displaying a message urging Marines to refuse their orders and fight alongside the Syrian army. Approximately 3,500 visitors saw the message instead of the recruitment website.
Agha also attempted twice to gain control of the White House’s social media accounts by stealing login credentials belonging to staff members. In one instance, he obtained access to an employee’s email account but failed to gain control of the official accounts.
The DOJ said the campaign was organized by members of Assad’s inner circle, including the commander of Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate. Its targets included media outlets reporting on abuses by the former Syrian government, as well as organizations and individuals viewed as opponents of the regime.
The attacks caused financial damage to several victims. One online publishing company lost approximately $35,000 per day for around 6 months, while an international NGO spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on security upgrades, monitoring systems and staff retraining.
Agha had been a fugitive for more than a decade before his sentencing. He and alleged co-conspirator Firas Dardar were indicted in 2018 after initially being charged in 2014. Dardar remains at large.
The FBI’s Washington Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the agency’s Cyber Division. The DOJ said Agha’s sentence reflects his role in targeting media organizations, businesses and government institutions on behalf of the former Syrian regime.
Syrian Man Sentenced for Wide-Ranging Hacking Conspiracy Conducted on Behalf of the Bashar Al Assad Regime Ahmad Umar Agha (also known as Th3Pr0) had spent more than a decade as a fugitive for targeting of Western media entities, businesses, NGOs, and U.S. and allied government entities. “Agha deployed his hacking skills in the service of Assad’s regime to silence reporting on the regime’s atrocities, intimidate its opponents, and incite U.S. servicemembers to refuse their orders,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “His attacks on our networks and institutions, including one that temporarily erased $136 billion from U.S. investors, constitute an assault on the free press and our national and economic security. Today’s sentence should serve as a reminder of the National Security Division’s long memory in pursuit of state-sponsored hackers such as Agha.” 🔗: https://t.co/9Tiyg2IRiQ
— National Security Division, U.S. Dept of Justice (@DOJNatSec) October 29, 2026