Man who shouted 'I will kill you Jews' outside north London synagogue and threatened to 'blow up' schools jailed

A man has been jailed after threatening to "blow up" Jewish schools and shouting: "I will kill you Jews".

Tavius Jean Charles, 35, pleaded guilty in April to eight offences, against six victims, of religiously aggravated threatening behaviour and religiously aggravated criminal damage between October 2025 and March 2026.

The Metropolitan Police said he directed his threats to those he believed to be Jewish, including shouting death threats, and that the incidents took place near synagogues.

Sentencing him at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, Judge Dafna Spiro said: "Your behaviour amounted to sustained and deliberate campaign of antisemitic behaviour carried out over a number of months.

"You repeatedly targeted individuals who were visibly Jewish in the street and outside a synagogue."

She added that there had been "no expression of remorse and no mitigation whatsoever addressing the religiously motivated nature of your conduct."

The court heard that Jean Charles, of Hackney, was arrested on 24 March after police received reports of a man shouting antisemitic abuse and throwing a rock at the window of a moving car.

On 16 March, Jean Charles was also said to have shouted: "Oi, I'm gonna kill you, not just you, all of you f****** Jews" while outside Belz Synagogue in Stamford Hill, north London.

He directed the remark to the synagogue's manager, Barry Bard, and his son.

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Around 30 minutes later, Joel Scher - who describes his appearance as "Orthodox Jewish" - heard Jean Charles shout "I will kill you Jews" as he drove past him along Heathland Road.

Jean Charles then threw a stone, smashing the Toyota Estima's passenger window and causing £205 worth of damage, the court heard, with Mr Scher originally thinking he was being shot at.

The court was previously told that on 24 March Jean Charles was heard saying "it would be good if we blew up one of their schools," and asked a bystander "are you Jewish?"

The court also heard that on 26 November, Mr Bard saw Jean Charles loitering outside and taking photographs just after 11pm, before shouting across the road: "Jew, I'm going to kill you."

Judge Spiro also sentenced Jean Charles for possession of crack cocaine with intent to supply and possession of cannabis.

He was handed a two-and-a-half-year prison term for the religiously aggravated offences and the same amount for the drug offences.

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Appearing from prison via video link, Jean Charles was further handed a restraining order banning him from entering the Stamford Hill area and contacting his victims.

He was also ordered to pay Mr Scher £25 for the damage to his vehicle, but the judge said that he did not have the means to pay compensation for psychological harm to the victims.

Jean Charles has 16 previous convictions for 36 offences, the court heard, including for recently being in possession of a machete.

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