Daquan Lamont Smith, 20, was indicted in federal court in Florida on a charge of interstate transmission of a threat after prosecutors alleged he made a recorded phone call threatening passengers aboard a cruise ship on Dec. 6, 2025. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced the indictment Tuesday.

According to the indictment, Smith knowingly transmitted a communication containing a threat to injure people aboard the vessel. During the recorded call, prosecutors allege Smith claimed he was on a cruise ship that had departed from the Bahamas two days earlier and said he had a bomb aboard the vessel.

The cruise ship was not identified by federal prosecutors.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was brought in the Middle District of Florida, where federal prosecutors are handling the charges.

Smith is charged with interstate transmission of a threat, a federal offense involving communications transmitted across state lines or through interstate commerce. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

The indictment stems from an alleged threat made nearly nine months before federal prosecutors announced the case. The government has not alleged that Smith actually possessed a bomb or that an explosive device was found aboard the cruise ship. The charging document instead centers on the alleged threat communicated during the recorded call.

Federal authorities emphasized that an indictment is a formal accusation and does not establish guilt. Smith is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court. The case remains pending in federal court and a hearing for Smith was listed on the Middle District of Florida’s court calendar under case number 6:26-cr-00179.