By: Fern Sidman

In a case that focused on the federal government’s intensified efforts to combat hate crimes targeting religious communities, John Reardon, a 60-year-old resident of Millis, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 26 months in federal prison for making a series of violent antisemitic threats, including promises to kill Jews and bomb synagogues. The sentencing, announced by the Department of Justice on Thursday, follows a guilty plea entered in November to multiple felony counts stemming from a wave of harassment and intimidation against members of the Jewish community.

As was reported on Friday by The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), Reardon faced the possibility of up to 30 years in prison and $500,000 in fines for his actions. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court ordered Reardon to pay $1,260 in restitution to his victims and to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his sentence.

According to the information provided in the JNS report and federal court documents, Reardon’s conviction stems from a calculated and sustained campaign of threats made between October 7, 2023, and January 29, 2024 — a period marked by heightened antisemitic rhetoric and incidents across the United States following the Hamas-led massacre in Israel.

The Justice Department detailed that on January 25, 2024, Reardon left threatening voice messages targeting two Massachusetts synagogues:

Congregation Agudas Achim, a Reconstructionist synagogue in Attleboro.

Congregation Etz Chaim, an Orthodox synagogue in Sharon.

In these recorded messages, Reardon issued explicit threats to bomb the synagogues and kill Jewish worshippers. His rhetoric included language so extreme that prosecutors characterized it as “incitement to genocide.” Among the most chilling statements cited in the DOJ’s account was his threat to “stomp Jewish babies dead into the ground,” alongside calls to “prepare the furnaces again” — a direct reference to the Holocaust.

The scope of his threats was not limited to local houses of worship. Federal investigators found that Reardon had also placed 98 harassing and threatening calls to the Israeli Consulate in Boston over the same period. These calls, according to the JNS report, included messages such as “Death to Israel, wipe the Jews,” along with insults labeling consulate staff as “maggots,” “scum,” and “below animals.”

Reardon was arrested in January 2024 after law enforcement traced the threatening calls to his phone. By November, he pleaded guilty to three federal charges related to making threats against religious institutions and to the Israeli diplomatic mission.

At sentencing, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley, representing the District of Massachusetts, stressed the gravity of the crimes. “All Americans have the right to worship freely and without fear,” she said, according to the report at JNS. “It is a founding principle of our nation. Jewish people, in particular, have been targeted and persecuted for centuries, and in recent years we have seen a deeply troubling rise in antisemitic threats and violence. Let me be clear. We will not tolerate such conduct—not against the Jewish community, nor against any faith community.”

Foley’s remarks shed light on a broader DOJ policy emphasis on combating antisemitism, which federal officials have repeatedly described as a rising threat to community safety and democratic stability.

Ted Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, echoed this sentiment in a statement to JNS, condemning Reardon’s conduct as “despicable.” He described the threats as “spurred by deep-rooted hate” and “relentlessly” directed toward Jewish community members across the greater Boston area.

“Spanning two congregations in two different cities, as well as the Israeli consulate, his actions were intended to terrorize,” Docks said. He emphasized that the FBI remains committed to working closely with faith communities to ensure that threats are taken seriously and perpetrators are held accountable.

The case reflects a troubling reality documented by JNS and numerous Jewish communal organizations: antisemitism in the United States has surged in both frequency and severity over the past several years. According to national incident tracking, threats against Jewish institutions have risen sharply since October 2023, with synagogues, Jewish schools, and community centers reporting unprecedented levels of harassment.

Experts point out that such threats, even when not carried out, inflict real harm. They can deter worshippers from attending services, force institutions to divert resources to security, and traumatize communities already wary of targeted violence. The references in Reardon’s threats to Nazi extermination methods, combined with violent imagery against children, heightened the psychological impact on victims and reinforced the gravity of the charges.

The Justice Department has increasingly prioritized the protection of religious institutions, particularly in light of high-profile antisemitic attacks in recent years, including the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh and the 2019 Jersey City kosher market attack.

As the JNS report noted, in cases like Reardon’s, the DOJ applies federal statutes specifically designed to protect individuals’ constitutional right to free exercise of religion without intimidation or interference. These laws allow for severe penalties, especially when threats cross state lines or target institutions with interstate or international connections, such as diplomatic missions.

The sentencing also reflects the DOJ’s stated objective of balancing deterrence with rehabilitation. The 26-month prison term, combined with supervised release, is intended to prevent future threats while signaling to others that similar conduct will be met with swift and substantial punishment.

Leaders of the targeted congregations have not publicly commented in detail on the sentencing, but JNS reported that community members expressed relief that the case was resolved with a prison term, viewing it as a measure of accountability and justice.

In the months since the threats, both Congregation Agudas Achim and Congregation Etz Chaim have reportedly implemented additional security measures, working with local law enforcement and the Secure Community Network (SCN), the national safety and security organization serving the American Jewish community.

Community advocates emphasize that the swift law enforcement response was critical in preventing potential escalation. “When a perpetrator makes repeated threats over an extended period, the risk profile changes,” one security expert told JNS. “It’s not just idle talk — it becomes an ongoing campaign of terror that can inspire others or embolden the perpetrator to act.”

The Reardon case comes at a time when federal, state, and local agencies are reexamining how best to address hate-motivated threats that exploit modern communications technology. While law enforcement can often trace phone calls and electronic messages, the sheer volume of incidents and the speed with which threats can be made present unique challenges.

As JNS has reported in related cases, the DOJ is exploring ways to enhance interagency coordination, streamline threat assessment processes, and expand community outreach programs to encourage reporting of suspicious or threatening behavior.

For the Jewish community, the sentencing serves as both a warning and a reassurance: a warning that antisemitic hostility continues to manifest in dangerously explicit forms, and a reassurance that the legal system retains tools to respond decisively.

While the prison term imposed on John Reardon may not approach the statutory maximum, it represents a clear and deliberate message from the Justice Department: threats against religious communities, and especially those steeped in antisemitic animus, will be met with firm legal consequences.

As JNS has chronicled, such cases are not isolated incidents but part of a broader, troubling pattern. In addressing them, federal authorities aim not only to protect individual victims but also to defend the principles of religious freedom and equal protection under the law.

For now, the Jewish communities of Attleboro, Sharon, and the wider Boston area can take some measure of comfort in knowing that a perpetrator who sought to intimidate and terrorize them is behind bars. Yet, as law enforcement officials and Jewish leaders alike have warned, continued vigilance — both within communities and across the justice system — remains essential in ensuring that such acts of hate are met not with fear, but with resolute action.