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Reardon’s trial pushed back to December

Man accused of threatening JCC

YOUNGSTOWN — The trial date for James P. Reardon, 21, of New Middletown is now 10 a.m. Dec. 8 after a federal judge on Monday pushed it back from Sept. 28.

Reardon also was supposed to have a final pretrial hearing Thursday, but that is now set for 10 a.m. Nov. 23.

Reardon is accused of making online threats against the Jewish Community Center on July 11, 2019.

Reardon’s attorney, Ross T. Smith, asked for the later trial date, saying Sept. 9 that because of “health and safety” issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith is “not comfortable with participating in said proceedings at the present time.”

There are also unresolved issues relating to pretrial evidence, and the parties continue to “engage in plea negotiations to attempt a resolution prior to trial.”

The judge presiding over Reardon’s case recently filed an order affecting all of the Northern District of Ohio federal courts, saying that trials could resume Monday. But that order stated all parties have to formally consent to the trial because of the challenges of seating a jury while the pandemic is ongoing.

Reardon is charged with posting a video on the social media site Instagram in which he 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 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.

erunyan@tribtoday.com

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