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Ohio man pleads not guilty to threatening to shoot up Jewish community center

He has been charged with posting a video on social media firing a semi-automatic rifle as the background features screams and sirens.

An undated photo of James Reardon Jr. provided by the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office.
An undated photo of James Reardon Jr. provided by the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office.

A self-identified white nationalist in Ohio has pleaded not guilty to threatening the Youngstown Jewish Community Center.

James Reardon Jr., 20, appeared in front of a municipal court judge on Monday following his arrest on Saturday.

He has been charged with posting a video on social media firing a semi-automatic rifle as the background features screams and sirens. A caption read: “Police identified the Youngstown Jewish Family Community shooter as local white nationalist Seamus O’Rearedon.”

The Jewish Community Center of Youngstown was tagged in the post.

Reardon’s bond was set at $250,000, and he was ordered to undergo a mental-health evaluation, in addition to staying away from Jewish institutions, including synagogues, were he to be released from jail.

A search by FBI Violent Crimes Task Force of the suspect’s home turned up “dozens of rounds of ammo, several semi-automatic weapons, a gas mask and bulletproof armor. They also found anti-Semitic and white nationalist propaganda,” reported The Cleveland Jewish News.

Reardon was at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017.

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