What did Saul of Tarsus do to the Jewish believers before he became Paul?

Les teaches that Saul of Tarsus took the lead in persecuting Jewish believers who had recognized Christ as their Messiah, and he did everything he could to stamp them out. Paul writes in Acts 26 that he thought he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, that he did this in Jerusalem, and that he shut up many of the saints in prison. The context explains that these saints were Jewish believers who had followed Christ in His earthly ministry. Paul also received authority from the chief priests, and when these believers were put to death, Saul was at the head of it. Les notes that the Jews had authority within their religion to put their own people to death, and that they must have put a number of them out of the way. Les compares this pattern to communists, Hitler, and other totalitarian leaders who try to stamp out opposition.