Youngstown JCC threat suspect scheduled for court appearance
It remains to be seen if a New Middletown man arrested for allegedly posting a video threatening to shoot-up Youngstown's Jewish Community Center will face federal charges.
It remains to be seen if a New Middletown man arrested for allegedly posting a video threatening to shoot-up Youngstown's Jewish Community Center will face federal charges.
James Patrick Reardon, Jr., 20, is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Struthers Municipal Court on charges of telephone communication harassment and aggravated menacing.
As of early Monday, those were the only charges filed against Reardon.
When Boardman teen Justin Olsen was arrested earlier this month, he was first jailed on local charges before federal authorities filed a charge of threatening a federal law enforcement officer.
Reardon has been in the Mahoning County jail on $250,000 bond since New Middletown police, and the FBI arrested him at his mother's home on Friday.
Self-described as a white nationalist, police say Reardon posted a video of himself repeatedly firing a rifle with the caption, "Police identified the Youngstown Jewish Family Community shooter as white nationalist Seamus O'Reardon."
Reardon, who according to police, uses an online name I-R-A Seamus, was arrested within seven hours of the video post.
Authorities confiscated two AR-15's, a rifle with a bayonet, a 40 caliber anti-tank gun, knives, several magazines, ammunition, a gas mask, and a bulletproof.
Police also found a flask with a Confederate flag sticker and jacket with Irish Republican Army patches on it.
The arrest prompted a reaction from James Pasch, Regional Director of the Cleveland Office of the Anti-Defamation League which, according to its website, is a leading anti-hate organization.
“Today’s arrest is reminder of the continued rise of white nationalism and violent extremism that we are seeing nation wide. The man whom authorities arrested today appears to have attended the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, where he announced to the world that he was a white nationalist who wanted, ‘a homeland for white people.’ Just as we have in every moment since that Charlottesville rally, we will remain galvanized and energized in stopping white supremacists from spreading hate. We remain steadfast in our commitment to work side by side with law enforcement and community partners to continue to stop potential attacks and threats.”
We all play a vital role when it comes to keeping our communities safe. Members of the community are encouraged to remain situationally aware and report any suspicious activity, observed either in person or online, to law enforcement.”
