SALEM — The Beverly man accused of making threats online to rape Jewish women and shoot Jews outside synagogues, and who was found in his family’s Essex Street home with guns, ammunition and a Nazi flag, agreed to a plea deal this month whereby he will serve no more than five years in prison and two years probation.

In Essex County Superior Court on Oct. 2, prosecutors announced a deal with Matthew C. Scouras, 36. He pled guilty to 15 counts of unlawfully possessing large-capacity firearms and feeding devices (M.G.L. 269, §10(m)) and four counts of possessing a firearm or ammunition without a firearm identification card (an FID, or license) (M.G.L. 269 §10(h) and M.G.L. 269 §10(h)(1)).

A 20th charge – a felony related to the online threats, which carried a penalty of up to 20 years in prison (M.G.L. 269 §14(b)) – was dropped by prosecutors.

Per the agreement, Scouras will serve the 19 guilty sentences concurrently. Judge Elizabeth Dunigan sentenced Scouras to a minimum of 2 1/2 years of incarceration at the maximum security penitentiary outside Shirley. Given he has been held without bail since his arrest on Jan. 4, 2025, Scouras will receive 640 days – 21 months – off his sentence for time served.

Depending on his behavior while incarcerated, Scouras may be eligible for parole after nine months. Regardless, he will not serve more than five years in state prison.

Upon his release, Scouras will be on supervised probation for two years. During his probation, he must stay away from all synagogues and temples in Massachusetts and complete an online course on antisemitism offered by Yad Vashem, the Jerusalem-based World Holocaust Remembrance Center.

Other conditions of his probation include submitting to mental health evaluations and treatments; seeking and maintaining employment; refraining from engaging with online forums and social media platforms and websites (except those related to employment); and submitting to random digital searches of all internet-enabled devices.

Rabbi Alison Adler of Beverly’s Temple B’nai Abraham, as well as TBA President Julie Zieff and five other congregants, attended the plea hearing. Many were distressed that the sole charge related to making threats against Jews was dropped by prosecutors.

“While we are grateful for the support of law enforcement, we are deeply troubled that today’s judgment falls far short of delivering justice,” noted Zieff in a statement. “This outcome is a profound disappointment to our congregation and its leadership.”

Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker said the threat charge was dismissed “based on an assessment of the strength of all the charges, given our burden of proof.” The threatening posts could not be traced back to Scouras, he said, because the servers they came from are based outside the U.S.

Tucker said the actions of law enforcement made the community safer.

“[Scouras’] arrest and prosecution disrupted a serious threat to public safety,” he noted in a written statement. “I am grateful to our partners at the FBI and Beverly Police Department and hope the resolution of this case can begin to restore a sense of safety and security to the Beverly community.”

Judging from the reactions of TBA members in the courtroom, it did not. After the hearing, they expressed concerns about the shortness of Scouras’ sentence: If he serves the 2 1/2 year (30 month) minimum, with 21 months off for time served, he could be back in Beverly within a year, they noted.

Tucker maintained the prison sentence and probation stipulations were appropriate. “We believe the sentence imposed, which includes treatment and education, affords Mr. Scouras the opportunity for rehabilitation,” he said.

TBA members were also concerned with how close Scouras lives to their homes and B’nai Abraham itself. Some attendees said they could see his house from theirs, and more than one said, “He knows where I live.”

Indeed, when the FBI National Threat Operation Center began monitoring Scouras after he allegedly posted online threats in January 2025, it found posts on the social media website 4chan wherein he purportedly bragged about having the names and addresses of every Jew in his neighborhood. He also allegedly boasted about planning to rape a Jewish woman and wrote, “If everyone just started shooting Jews at their synagogues, all this can stop overnight.”

In January 2025, Beverly Police, acting on a tip from the FBI, visited and later searched the home where Scouras lived with his mother. According to their report, police found 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, and a jig for drilling holes into pistol handles. In addition, $70,262 in cash was also seized during Scouras’ arrest. The money was later returned to him.

At a public forum at Temple B’nai Abraham on Oct. 5, Tucker and Beverly Police Chief John G. LeLacheur addressed concerns raised by community members about the emotional impact of the case.

Tucker expressed his full awareness of “the significant public safety concerns that this case has raised among community members,” adding that he shares in those concerns. He pointed to several aspects of the plea deal – including Scouras’ prison sentence, his lifelong prohibition from owning a firearm, and the probation stipulations – as safeguards for the community.

Under Massachusetts law, the weapons charges Scouras pled guilty to are not considered violent crimes; therefore, community members are not eligible to speak at any parole hearing he might have. Only the victims of violent crimes or their family members may testify at parole hearings. It is unclear whether community members would have been eligible to speak at a parole hearing had Scouras been convicted of making threats against Jews.

From the time of Scouras’ arrest through his plea hearing, TBA’s Rabbi Adler has expressed appreciation to law enforcement for its efforts. She hoped that the public forum helped the community understand the process that the district attorney’s office had followed and how hard they worked on behalf of the community.

“I am extremely grateful to D.A. Tucker for always being available to the Jewish community in these very challenging times,” she said.

Rabbi Michael Ragozin, whose Congregation Shirat Hayam of Swampscott was recently the site of antisemitic vandalism and who also attended the plea hearing, sounded a note of self-reliance.

“It’s essential that the Jewish community stands together, both to combat Jew hate and comfort one another,” he said. “The message of ‘You are not alone,’ begins with us, with us supporting each other.” Θ

Contact reporter Brett M. Rhyne at brett@jewishjournal.org.