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.

MARBLEHEAD – While Gloucester students went back to school Monday, Beverly and Marblehead kids were out for the 11th and 10th school days, respectively. Both communities are at a standstill in bargaining as the court orders an independent fact finder to help resolve the labor disputes.

Both unions face hundreds of thousands of dollars in court-ordered fines, as a judge held them in contempt after they engaged in an illegal strike. Union leadership says school committees are not negotiating in good faith. Striking teachers are going without pay, as school committee members say it’s illegal to pay an employee who is on strike.

Public employee strikes illegal in Massachusetts

All public employee strikes are illegal in Massachusetts, due to a law introduced in 1973 after a number of strikes across New Bedford and Franklin in which teachers were arrested. Teachers are not arrested in modern day strikes, but rather, their unions face hefty fines.

“I don’t think that a judge wants to put anybody in jail because you don’t necessarily want to make a martyr out of somebody who might not deserve martyr status,” said Glenn Koocher, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.

In a press conference Monday afternoon, members of the Marblehead school committee accused the simultaneous strikes in three North Shore communities as being coordinated by the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the statewide educators union.

“In this case it is clear that the statewide MTA is coordinating these strikes,” said Jenn Schaeffner, co-chairperson of the Marblehead School Committee. 

“Well, I don’t believe there’s any evidence that this is part of a statewide conspiracy, but I can tell that it is unusual that three school districts in the same area would all strike at the same time, use some of the same talking points,” Koocher added. “This significantly disrupts the welfare of children of all ages, and it’s never good not to be in school.”

Lawyer wants union to pay parents after strikes

A Chicago-based attorney is currently trying to change to outcome of teachers’ strikes through lawsuits. Daniel Suhr of Hughes and Suhr Law represents multiple Newton parents in a lawsuit against the Newton Teachers Association for individual damages (childcare, work missed, and more) form the winter 2024 strike that lasted 11 days in Newton. He has four other active similar cases across the country.

“I think the lesson the unions took from Newton is, we can break the law and still make a lot of money,” Suhr said. “That if we make a $53 million collective bargaining agreement, but only pay a half a million dollars in fines, well, if we don’t care what the law is, that’s just profit.”

Suhr alleges that making the unions pay penalties to parents would deter future strikes.

“We want to stop this from happening again,” he said. “Clearly the system is broken. These injunctions from judges are not being respected by the unions. And so, our hope is that a real financial disincentive which is paying these parents and students for the damage they’re causing will finally put an end to this.”

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