Massachusetts man pleads guilty to threatening to bomb synagogue
BOSTON — A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty on Monday to charges that he threatened to kill Jews and bomb a synagogue in a case that U.S. prosecutors said reflected a growing nationwide torrent of antisemitism after the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began last year.
BOSTON — A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty on Monday to charges that he threatened to kill Jews and bomb a synagogue in a case that U.S. prosecutors said reflected a growing nationwide torrent of antisemitism after the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began last year.
John Reardon, during a hearing in Boston federal court, pleaded guilty to threatening to bomb the Congregation Agudas Achim and threatening to kill children in a voicemail he left with the Attleboro, Massachusetts-based synagogue 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,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
John Reardon.Attleboro Police Department via ReutersThe rising number of threats followed the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas that killed some 1,200 Israelis and prompted the war in Gaza. Israel’s 13-month campaign in Gaza has killed more than 44,000 people and displaced nearly all the enclave’s population at least once, according to Gaza officials.
Prosecutors said that during his two-minute voicemail, Reardon, 59, said: “you do realize that by supporting genocide that means it’s OK for people to commit genocide against you.”
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