MILLIS, Mass. (WLNE) — The United States Department of Justice announced a man pled guilty on Monday for threatening to kill members of the Jewish community and bomb Jewish synagogues. John Reardon, 59, pled guilty to one count of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, once count of transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure a person, and one count of stalking using a facility of interstate commerce. On Jan. 25, Reardon called the Congregation Agudas Achim, a synagogue in Attleborough, Mass., and left a voicemail with threats of violence. About 10 minutes later, he called another synagogue in Sharon, Mass. and left another violent voicemail with threats. According to the Attleborough Police Department, officers responded to the Attleborough synagogue around 9 a.m. after an employee heard the voicemail, which included “threats referring to genocide, bombing places of worship, and the killing of children.” Reardon was identified and located in Wrentham, where he was taken into custody, according to Attleborough police. Subsequence investigation showed the defendant called the Israeli Consulate in Boston 98 times between Oct. 7, 2023 and Jan. 29, 2024, according to the DOJ. In many of these calls, the DOJ said Reardon made “harassing and intimidating statements.” “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. “No person and no community in this country should have to live in fear of hate-fueled violence.” Reardon is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 14. Categories: Attleboro, Massachusetts