Man admits he threatened to kill worshippers at two synagogues and smear pig blood on their steps; still faces separate charges for harassing calls to the Israeli consulate

A Millis man with a history of making threatening phones calls pleaded guilty today to federal charges related to calls he made on Jan. 25 threatening to murder members of synagogues in Attleboro and Sharon and their children.

Boston federal Judge Julia Kobick set a sentencing date of Aug. 14 for John Reardon, 59, on charges of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure a person and stalking using a facility of interstate commerce.

Reardon was arrested just four days after making the calls, because he did nothing to hide his phone number when making the calls.

Reardon potentially faces up to 30 years in prison on the three charges. However, in a plea deal, federal prosecutors agreed to seek no more than 30 months in prison and 36 months on probation - although Kobick can disregard that recommendation.

The plea deal also hinges on the Suffolk County District Attorney's office agreeing to drop a separate set of charges, for which he was arraigned in August in Boston Municipal Court, related to 98 phone calls to the Israeli consulate in Park Square between October and the day he was arrested for the temple calls.

The Suffolk charges mirror the federal ones: Making a threat to commit a crime, committing a civil-rights violation and criminal harassment, court records show. As of tonight, court records still show that case as active, with a hearing scheduled for Dec. 10 on pre-trial evidence collection and jury selection.

According to federal prosecutors and an affidavit by an FBI agent on the case, Reardon left a voice mail at Congregation Agudas Achim around 8:45 a.m. that blamed its members for events in Gaza and said their lives and their children's lives were now forfeit.

Guess what? We are going to use your logic - if you can kill the Palestinians, we can kill you. ... If you can bomb their f**king places of worship we can bomb yours, if you can kill their children we can kill yours. ... You people need to stop the f**king genocide. ... End the genocide, or it is time to end Israel and all the Jews. ... I supported Jewish people though. Not anymore. A matter of fact I think we should kill you(s) all. ... Have a lousy day and oh don't be surprised if there's pig blood on your steps tomorrow.

He then called another congregation in Sharon, whose names prosecutors did not release publicly, and left a similar voice message.

The affidavit continued:

I am aware that REARDON is alleged to have previously made threats on at least two prior occasions, and thus he was aware of the implications of making threats to harm people. Specifically, in 2022, REARDON was investigated for leaving a threatening voicemail at a school for K-12 students in Framingham, Massachusetts. He was also charged for making violent threats to employees at a local bank in 2020.

Initially held after his arrest, Reardon was released on bail on the federal charges in February, on conditions that he enroll in a mental-health program, that he have no contact at all, whether in person, by phone or on social media with any Jewish organization or its members and that he agree to have software installed on his phone and computer that would alert federal probation officers to any attempt at "viewing, downloading, uploading, transmitting or otherwise using any images or content relating to the Jewish faith or Jewis establishments or otherwise inappropriate nature."