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Reardon trial delayed to work out plea

CLEVELAND — The trial for James P. Reardon, who is charged with making threats toward the Jewish Community Center in Youngstown, is now pushed back to June 29.

U.S. District Judge Patricia Gaughan has rescheduled Reardon’s next pretrial hearing for 10 a.m. June 23 and his trial for 9 a.m. June 29.

His attorney, Ross T. Smith, asked for Reardon’s pretrial hearing today and April 21 trial date to be delayed, citing the need for more time for “ongoing plea negotiations.”

Smith also cited Judge Gaughan’s general order last month regarding changes to the operations of the federal courts in the Northern District of Ohio because of the coronavirus.

Reardon, 20, of New Middletown, is charged with transmitting an interstate communication threat and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Authorities were alerted to a video post Reardon allegedly made on social media site Instagram. In the July 11 video, Reardon is seen holding a rifle in multiple firing positions — with audio of gunshots and sound effects of sirens and people screaming in the background.

The Instagram video is captioned: “the police have identified the shooter of the Youngstown Jewish Family Community Center as local white nationalist Seamus O’Rearedon” — Seamus being a Gaelic version of the name James.

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