YOUNGSTOWN — James Reardon did not say anything before being sentenced to 41 months in federal prison Wednesday for making threats against the Jewish Community Center two years ago, but his attorney said Reardon is “not an extremist.”

Reardon gets credit for the 25 months he has spent in the Mahoning County jail awaiting trial, leaving him with about 16 months left to serve. His sentencing was carried out by video from the Mahoning County jail.

Attorney Ross Smith, who represents Reardon, told Judge Patricia Gaughan that Reardon, 22, of New Middletown realized shortly after posting a threatening video in July 2019 that, “Yes, I am an idiot” and “It was anti-Semitic.”

Smith said Reardon admitted to investigators that he posted the video soon after it was discovered and has shown during the two years he’s been locked up awaiting trial that he “takes responsibility for his actions.”

Smith added: “Mr. Reardon has had the opportunity to learn first-hand that what you say matters, how you say it matters.” Smith said Reardon “doesn’t feel comfortable saying anything at this time.”

Gaughan’s courtroom is in Cleveland. Reardon pleaded guilty by video May 26 to transmitting a threatening communication, which resulted in six months of his sentence; and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, which resulted in the other 35 months.

New Middletown police contacted the FBI on Aug. 16, 2019, after being made aware of a video posted on an Instagram page by user “ira-seamus.”

The video depicted Reardon holding an assault rifle. It began with Reardon stating “(expletive) a life.” He then held the rifle in multiple firing positions, with audio of gunshots and sound effects of sirens and people screaming added into the background, according to Reardon’s criminal complaint.

The video also had a caption that stated: “Police identified the Youngstown Jewish Family Community shooter as local white nationalist Seamus O’Rearedon.” The video is shown to be tagged at the Jewish Community Center of Youngstown, according to the complaint.

New Middletown police officers showed federal agents other videos in which Reardon was depicted, including a National Geographic documentary in which Reardon was at the August 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., and an Instagram video posted by Reardon in which he discharges two rounds of ammunition into a cover of a video while making a remark about “Jewish media.”

A male friend of Reardon’s was alleged to have created a video showing Reardon shooting an assault rifle while uttering a German phrase, adding sounds of sirens and and screams and sending the original and edited version to Reardon, the filing notes.

Prosecutors said Reardon added the caption about “local white nationalist Seamus O’Rearedon” and posted it on Instagram on July 11, 2019, tagging the Jewish Community Center of Youngstown.

Members of law enforcement executed a search warrant at Reardon’s residence later that day. Upon entering the basement, investigators found a Nazi-designed MP-40 sub-machine gun like the one depicted in the video, an AR-15 assault rifle, numerous Nazi World War II propaganda posters, a rifle bayonet, a Hitler Youth knife and vintage U.S. military equipment, according to the complaint.

Gaughan told Reardon he will be on probation for five years after he leaves prison. He also must be drug tested within 15 days of leaving prison and must receive mental health treatment as outlined by his probation officer.

While on probation he must allow his computers to be monitored, the judge said.

In talking to Reardon, the judge said: “It is an understatement to say your conduct was of an extraordinary nature. You posted a video depicting yourself as a mass shooter of the Jewish Community Center.”

She said such conduct “will not be tolerated” and the “safety of the community cannot be compromised,” adding that religious freedom must be protected. “I hope the sentence will be a deterrent,” she said.

“I think 41 months is a significant deterrent, especially for someone with no criminal record,” she said.

David Toepfer, assistant U.S. attorney, said the context of Reardon’s video is important to understanding why Reardon’s video was a threat.

The video was posted less than a year after the Oct. 27, 2018, attack by Robert Bowers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh that killed 11 worshipers, and about two years after the deadly Charlottesville rally, Toepfer said, noting the connections between the Youngstown and Pittsburgh areas.

Toepfer said the “context” of Reardon’s actions is that “Anti-Semitism is literally the oldest kind of racism in history. It goes back 5,000 years.”

Making threats against Jewish people “causes us to take any threat seriously. It’s hard to turn a blind eye,” Toepfer said.

Toepfer said he spoke with representatives of the Jewish Community Center to make them aware of the sentence Reardon could expect, “and they had no problem with it.”

If Reardon violates the terms of his probation, he can be sent back to prison.

erunyan@vindy.com