Chicago Man Faces Federal Prison After Bomb Threat Call to Disney Cruise Ship Traced Back to Him
A 20-year-old man from Chicago is facing up to five years in federal prison after allegedly calling in a bomb threat against a Disney Cruise Line ship returning from the Bahamas. The reason he says he made the call is one of the most unusual details in a genuinely strange case.
Daquan Lamont Smith was indicted by a federal grand jury in Orlando, Florida on a charge of interstate transmission of a threat. The indictment, filed by the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida on September 8, 2026, stems from a recorded phone call Smith allegedly made on December 6, 2025.
What Smith Allegedly Said
The content of the call leaves little ambiguity about the nature of the threat.
“I’m on the cruise boat coming from Bahamas that left two days ago, and I’m letting you guys know now I have a bomb on the boat and I want to blow it up,” Smith allegedly stated during the recorded call.
The ship involved was a Disney Cruise Line vessel traveling from the Bahamas. The specific vessel has not been officially identified in court documents, nor has the recipient of the call. It remains unclear whether the threat triggered any immediate security response, evacuations, or disruptions aboard the ship at the time it was made.
The Reason He Says He Made the Call
This is where the case takes its most unusual turn.
After investigators traced the call to Smith’s cell phone and identified him as the caller, Smith and his mother met with the FBI to discuss what had happened. According to an account of that interview filed in court, Smith told investigators he had been receiving unwanted spam calls throughout the day on December 6. Disney Cruise Line’s number was the most recent to have contacted him.
Out of frustration with the relentless spam calls, Smith says he called the number back — and made the bomb threat. He told investigators he had no intention of harming Disney Cruise Line or anyone aboard its ships.
Smith was arrested in Illinois in July 2026 and released on bond. He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment and the case is ongoing.
The Legal Complications
The case is being contested on multiple fronts beyond the question of guilt or innocence.
Smith’s attorney has filed a motion to dismiss the Orlando indictment entirely and have the case transferred to Illinois, arguing that Smith was physically located in Chicago when the alleged call was made — not in Florida. That jurisdictional question has not yet been resolved by a federal judge.
Additionally, Smith’s attorney is seeking to suppress the statements he made during his FBI interview. The defense argues the interview was not recorded, and that agents failed to advise Smith of his Miranda rights before he spoke. If that motion succeeds, the account of the spam call explanation would be inadmissible at trial.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office had initially investigated the matter, but reportedly informed the FBI in February 2026 that it could not prosecute the case because the alleged offense occurred outside its jurisdiction — leading to the federal indictment.
Smith’s next hearing is scheduled for October 13, 2026.
The Potential Consequences
Under US federal law, interstate transmission of a threat carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. Smith is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The FBI investigated the case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys in the Orlando division of the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Not the First Cruise Ship Bomb Threat
The cruise industry has encountered bomb threats before, and every one is treated with the utmost seriousness regardless of the circumstances that may have motivated it.
A 2024 case drew striking parallels to Smith’s situation — a young man in his late teens made a false bomb threat against a Carnival cruise ship that had recently left a Florida homeport. The threat triggered a significant multi-agency response involving the Coast Guard and international maritime police, with the vessel diverted to a Caribbean port for a full search of its staterooms. When the threat was investigated and the caller identified, it emerged the hoax had been motivated by a personal dispute rather than any genuine intent to cause harm. The caller was ultimately convicted and served time in federal prison.
In March 2026, a threat called in to the Port of San Diego caused a temporary lockdown and delayed disembarkation while law enforcement swept the terminal — Disney Wonder was in port at the time. No device was found. A separate incident at PortMiami in early 2025 disrupted traffic and port operations for several hours while multiple cruise ships were docked. That threat also proved unfounded.
The pattern underlines a consistent reality: threats of this nature are never dismissed regardless of the intentions behind them. The resources deployed in response — coast guard vessels, law enforcement personnel, ship searches, port closures — carry real costs. And as Smith’s case demonstrates, the legal consequences for the person who makes such a call can follow them for years.
