The federal courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, where John Reardon appeared Monday to be arraigned for alleged threats to kill Jews. Photo by Laura Owens Lambert/AFP via Getty Images

By Louis Keene January 29, 2024

Federal authorities have arrested a man who allegedly threatened a Massachusetts synagogue, telling the congregation in a voicemail, “If you can kill the Palestinians, we can kill you.”

John Riordan, 59, is charged with one count of using a facility of interstate commerce in connection with a voicemail to threaten a person or place with harm via an explosive.

Congregation Agudas Achim, a Reconstructionist synagogue in Attleboro, about 15 miles northeast of Providence, Rhode Island, received a voicemail Jan. 25 that included several threats against the synagogue in a rant about the war in Gaza, prosecutors said Monday.

They said those threats included: “You do realize that by supporting genocide that means it’s ok for people to commit genocide against you;” “I supported Jewish people though. Not anymore. A matter of fact I think we should kill you(s) all;” and “If you can bomb their f**king places of worship we can bomb yours, if you can kill their children we can kill yours.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the man subsequently called another local synagogue as well as a local Jewish-affiliated organization, neither of which it named. Reardon was first arrested by local law enforcement the day he allegedly made the calls and has remained in custody since.

If convicted, Riordan faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

“The allegations here about the series of threats Mr. Reardon made against the Jewish community are deeply disturbing and reflect the increasing torrent of antisemitism across our country and right here in Massachusetts,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy said in a statement. “The numbers do not lie — incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia are spiking.”

Agudas Achim’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Talya Weisbard Shalem, did not return a request for comment.

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