Police in the Boston suburb of Beverly, Massachusetts have arrested a local man on multiple charges of making antisemitic threats, inciting others online to shoot people outside of synagogues, and illegal possession of guns and ammunition.
A Nazi flag was found in the home of 34-year-old Matthew Scouras, who was arraigned on Monday. He is being held without bail pending a January 13 hearing.
Charges against Scouras included 12 counts of unlicensed firearm possession, as well as single counts of threats to destroy a place of worship, willful communication of a threat with a dangerous item, making of a firearm without a serial number, possession of a large capacity feeding device, illegal possession of ammunition and improper storage of a firearm.
A search of Scouras’ home turned up a cellphone, two desktop computers, a Nazi flag, a 9mm Glock “ghost gun” with no serial number, six boxes of ammunition, three large-capacity rifle magazines, 11 lower receivers for various rifles, other firearm parts, scopes, pistol frames, a jig used for drilling holes into polymer pistol handles, rifle stocks, and more than $70,000 in cash, police said.
Saturday’s arrest came after a tip from federal law enforcement.
“On Thursday, Jan. 2, the Beverly Police Department was notified by the FBI National Threat Operations Center that an individual with an address in Beverly posted several threats against people of Jewish faith on an internet image board,” police said in a statement.
“According to information provided by the FBI, an individual at 527 Essex St. posted threats to rape Jewish women and encouraged other users of the site to shoot people outside of synagogues.”
Beverly-Salem Mayor Michael Cahill and Chabad of Beverly-Salem Rabbi Mendel Barber called for unity against hate in a statement following the arrest.
“We must do acts of goodness and kindness, acts of random goodness and kindness, for absolutely no reason. Just as the same senseless hate that this young man has is for absolutely no reason,” Barber told reporters, adding that the Jewish community will take extra precaution in the wake of the arrest.
“Any of our events, or anytime we gather for prayer or whatever it may be, we have the security details. We’re putting up cameras,” he said.
“Hate and violence can have no place in Beverly, and we all must rededicate ourselves to living this every day,” Cahill said in a separate statement released late Tuesday afternoon.
“With a historic number of antisemitic incidents in the United States recorded in a one-year period last year, it is important now more than ever that we stand with our Jewish neighbors, and we reaffirm our commitment to fight antisemitism.
“The actions of one person do not represent our community, and we will continue to condemn antisemitism and all forms of hate, and to create a culture of belonging in Beverly.”
