Massachusetts man pleads guilty to threatening to kill Jewish children, bomb synagogues
A Massachusetts man faces up two-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to threatening to kill Jewish children and bomb local synagogues over the Israel-Hamas war.
John Reardon, 59, of Mills, pleaded guilty on Monday for leaving a horrifying, two-minute voicemail with the Congregation Agudas Achim synagogue, where he threatened to kill children and blow up the temple in January.
“This defendant’s threats to bomb synagogues and kill Jewish children stoked fear in the hearts of congregants at a time when Jews are already facing a disturbing increase in threats,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Prosecutors said Reardon’s two-minute voicemail referenced Israel’s war in Gaza, which the attorneys said was part of a disturbing trend of antisemitism across the nation over the conflict.
“You do realize that by supporting genocide that means it’s OK for people to commit genocide against you,” Reardon told the synagogue on January 25.
Minutes after threatening the Attleboro-based temple, officials said Reardon called another synagogue in Sharon, where he left a voicemail calling for the “kill of all Jews” and “stomping their babies dead into the ground,” according to court documents.
After arresting Reardon on January 29, investigators learned he was behind a series of disturbing calls to the Israeli Consulate in Boston that began after the Oct. 7 massacre, which left 1,200 dead in Israel.
Officials said Reardon called the consulate 98 times following the terrorist attack, making “statements intended to harass or intimidate” the office up until the day of his arrest.
All together, Reardon pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, one count of transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure a person, and one count of stalking using a facility of interstate commerce.
“John Reardon now stands convicted of inflicting terror on the greater Boston Jewish community by threatening violence against fellow residents of Massachusetts solely because of their Jewish faith,” said acting US Attorney Joshua S. Levy.
US District Judge Julia Kobick set his sentencing for Aug. 14, with prosecutors recommending two-and-a-half years in prison as part of the plea deal.
Reardon’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
With Post wires
