A Beverly man is being held without bail after police say he posted several threats to Jews on an internet image board.
Matthew Scouras, 34, was arrested Saturday on numerous gun charges as well as charges of threatening to destroy a place of worship and willful communication of a threat.
Beverly police learned on Thursday that a man with an address in the city posted threats to rape Jewish women and encouraged other users of a website to shoot people outside synagogues, the department said in a statement. Police later obtained a search warrant for Scouras’ home, where they found a Nazi flag, a 9mm Glock with the serial number removed, six boxes of ammunition and other gun-related items.
Scouras was held for a mental health evaluation following an initial visit to the home, prior to his arrest. He was taken into custody on Saturday, police said.
On Monday, Scouras was arraigned on 12 counts of possession of a firearm without a license, illegal possession of ammunition, possession of a large capacity feeding device, improper storage of a firearm, threats to destroy a place of worship, willful communication of a threat with a dangerous item and making of a firearm without a serial number. He will return to court for a detention hearing on Jan. 13.
