Nov. 26 (UPI) — A Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty to threatening to kill Jews and bomb synagogues amid an increase in threats directed at the Jewish community over Israel’s war in Gaza.
John Reardon, 59, of Millis, Mass., located about 30 miles southwest of Boston, pleaded guilty Monday to leaving threatening voicemails for Massachusetts synagogues and a Jewish organization early this year, the Justice Department said in a statement.
According to federal prosecutors, Reardon made the phone calls on Jan. 25, first to the Congregation Agudas Achim, an Attleboro synagogue, and then to another unidentified synagogue and a Jewish organization.
Excerpts of the two-minute voicemail that Reardon left for the Congregation Agudas Achim were reproduced in court documents, showing he threatened its members with lethal violence in retaliation for Israel’s war in Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
He told the synagogue, “by supporting genocide, that means it’s OK for people to commit genocide against you,” and that “with supporting the killing of innocent little children, that means it’s OK to kill your children.”
“I supported Jewish people though. Not anymore. A matter of fact, I think we should kill you(s) all,” he said, according to excerpts of the call reproduced by the Justice Department.
“Have a lousy day and, oh, don’t be surprised if there’s pig blood on your steps tomorrow.”
Prosecutors also said that between Oct. 7, 2023 — when the Israel-Hamas war began — and Jan. 29, the day of Reardon’s arrest, he made 98 calls to the Israeli Consulate in Boston, many of which included statements the Justice Department described as “intended to harass or intimidate.”
“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,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
“No person and no community in this country should have to live in fear of hate-fueled violence.”
Reardon made the calls amid spiking threats targeting members of the U.S. Jewish community.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, there were more than 10,000 anti-semitic incidents across the United States during the first 12 months of the war, marking a 200% increase compared to the same period a year earlier.
Of those incidents, more than 8,000 were verbal or written harassment, the U.S.-based Jewish organization said.
A sentencing hearing for Reardon is to be scheduled at a later date. Of the three counts he pleaded guilty to, the obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force carries the most severe penalty, with a potential maximum 20 years in prison.
Happy Tuesday! While today started off dry, we’re already looking at snow out there across the area. While this event will primarily stay as rain on the Cape and islands, it will be an icy mix of snow, ice and rain for the rest of us.
The rain/snow line will continue to advance from the south to the north as the evening progresses. Before the changeover, there will be a quick coating to 2 inches for most of our area.
The threshold between the snow and rain will feature sleet and freezing rain, leading to that icing.
For the rest of the night, there will primarily be rain with continued pockets of freezing rain, leading to increasing spotty ice accretion. Be extremely careful on roads, especially since switching between rain and freezing rain can wash off any road salt.
The rain and freezing rain will exit by 6 a.m. Wednesday, but temperatures will still be close to freezing during the morning commute, so watch out for some spotty black ice.
The rest of Wednesday will be really nice! Highs will warm up to the mid 50s with the help of ample sun.
Thursday we start off in the mid 20s and top off in the mid 40s. We’ll be partly sunny with another chance for some wintry weather Thursday night. This primarily looks like some rain and freezing rain, rather than the triple threat with snow too. We’ll keep an eye on that for you.
That will continue into Friday morning. The rest of Friday: cloudy with a chance for a spot shower and highs cooler again in the upper 30s. Saturday will be dry, breezy and cloudy but gorgeous near 50 degrees! There’s a chance for some rain showers Saturday night. Don’t forget to set your clocks forward an hour before you to go bed!
Sunday we start the day mild in the 40s and make it all the way into the upper 50s with more sun. Monday and Tuesday both look bright and in the 60s! Stay tuned.
Watch CBS News
With a widening conflict in the Middle East after the American and Israeli attack on Iran Saturday, global markets are bracing for a shakeup in the energy supply chain.
So, here at home, what can consumers expect at the gas pump?
An increase in oil prices is almost always followed by an increase in gas prices. And the oil market has already reacted to the war. NBC News reported on Sunday that U.S. crude oil initially spiked more than 10%, while Brent, the international oil benchmark, rose as much as 13%.
Early Monday morning, reports were coming in of black smoke rising from the U.S. embassy in Kuwait City.
While Iran’s oil reserves supply less than an estimated 5% of global production, the main concern is the Strait of Hormuz. This maritime passageway borders Iran at the bottleneck of the Persian Gulf, and more than 20% of the world’s oil passes through. If Iran closes or restricts Hormuz, the oil market could face severe disruptions.
Gas prices rise about 2.5 cents for every dollar increase in crude oil prices. As of Sunday, U.S. crude oil prices had already increased by nearly $5 a barrel.
“I fully expect that by Monday night, you could credibly say that gas prices are being impacted by oil prices having gone up,” GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan told NBC News.
GasBuddy characterizes their expectations for price increases as “incremental” rather than “explosive”. The group said to anticipate a potential 10-15 cent increase over the next couple of weeks.
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