White Nationalist Arrested After Threatening Jewish Community Center In Ohio

Police in Ohio have arrested a white nationalist after threatening a Jewish community center.

The threat originally came in July when 20-year-old James Reardon of New Middletown, Ohio, posted a video on Instagram of himself firing an assault rifle with screaming and sirens added into the background. He also tagged the nearby Jewish Community Center of Youngstown in the video, with the caption identifying Reardon described as a “local white nationalist.”

The video sparked immediate interest from local police and the FBI, who began investigating the video and the account it was posted under. During the investigation, police uncovered more about Reardon’s white nationalism, spotting him in videos from the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Another Instagram video was also found with Reardon firing two shots at a video cover while talking about the “Jewish media.”

Police acquired a search warrant for Reardon’s house, which was executed on Aug. 16th. During the search, investigators found multiple weapons, including an AR-15 and World War II-era MP-40 submachine gun. They also discovered antique U.S. military equipment, a bayonet, a Hitler Youth knife, and Nazi propaganda from World War II.

Reardon arrived home during the search and was promptly arrested by police without incident. However, Reardon has asserted that he and his friends use "racial and violent depictions for humor."

“The Constitution affords citizens many rights, but it does not allow people to threaten others with violence,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman told media. “Law enforcement will continue to work together to thwart those who threaten people based on their religion, race or national origin. We don’t go to war with people who break the law, we arrest them and send them to prison.”

And according to New Middletown Police Chief Vincent D'Egidio, Reardon’s mother had expressed some concerns about his action but “thought he was out of that.”

“She thought that he had straightened up and got rid of all that stuff, but once she was shown the one video that prompted everything, she just broke down,” D’Egidio told media.

Reardon is currently being held in jail on charges of transmitting threatening communications via interstate commerce.