Man charged in video threatening Jewish center, officials say

An Ohio man faces charges of harassment and aggravated menacing after a video was posted on social media that showed him firing a gun and referencing a local Jewish community center, the FBI said.

The man, James Patrick Reardon, 20, was arrested Friday, according to the agency, and the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office said he was being held on $250,000 bond.

In the short video, posted on Reardon’s Instagram account on July 11, he fires a gun and the sounds of screams and sirens can be heard in the background. The video was captioned, “Police identified the Youngstown Jewish Family Community shooter as local white nationalist Seamus O’Rearedon.”

The caption was an apparent reference to the Jewish Community Center of Youngstown, an agency of the federation that offers recreational activities and support for families, and to Reardon’s handle on Instagram. The Instagram post tagged the location of the community center.

Andy Lipkin, executive vice president of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, said in a statement that his staff had been made aware of the video Friday.

Lipkin said his staff had contacted authorities, local synagogues had been briefed and the federation had provided them with extra uniformed security.

A raid on Reardon’s home took place Friday after a local search warrant was issued, the FBI said in a statement. The agency said a local arrest warrant had also been executed, and Reardon had been taken into custody without incident.

The Police Department in New Middletown, about 12 miles south of Youngstown, made the arrest. Its officials were not immediately available for comment Sunday.

The FBI said it could not provide additional details about the investigation, which was continuing. It was not clear whether Reardon would face federal charges.