US EditionFBI: Suspect in Mississippi synagogue fire targeted house of worship because of its ‘Jewish ties’
Stephen Spencer Pittman admitted targeting the synagogue due to its Jewish ties and faces federal arson charges after damaging the historic Beth Israel Congregation.
- Stephen Spencer Pittman was charged Monday with maliciously damaging a building by fire after a blaze ripped through Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson shortly after 3 a.m. on Saturday.
- In an affidavit filed Monday, the FBI said Stephen Spencer Pittman confessed to setting the fire because of the building's Jewish ties, with the suspect's father reporting the confession and phone data corroborating it.
- Security camera footage released Monday shows a masked person pouring liquid from a gas can inside the lobby, while investigators recovered a burned cell phone and hand torch after Pittman used an ax, removed his license plate and ignited the fire with a torch lighter.
- The fire badly damaged the historic synagogue's library and administrative offices, five Torahs were assessed for smoke damage, two were destroyed, and yellow police tape and memorial flowers marked the scene Monday.
- The midcentury building housed the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, serving 13 southern states, and Beth Israel, founded 1860, was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1967.
96 Articles
96 Articles
Hinds Co. grand jury indicts suspected Beth Israel arsonist
Hinds Co. grand jury indicts suspected Beth Israel arsonist JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A man already facing federal charges in connection with setting the Beth Israel Congregation building on fire is now facing state charges. On Tuesday, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens announced that Spencer Pittman, 19, had been indicted by a Hinds County grand jury on first-degree arson charges. Those charges are also being enhanced with a hate crime en…
The Jackson synagogue fire began centuries ago
(RNS) — You probably know that song by Billy Joel: “We didn’t start the fire It was always burning since the world’s been turning We didn’t start the fire No, we didn’t light it But we tried to fight it … “ We Jews didn’t light it, but our history has been a long chronicle of trying to fight it. Last Shabbat morning (Jan. 10), an arsonist set fire to the historic Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi. By the time the flames were extin…
Civil rights organizations condemn synagogue arson in Mississippi
Civil rights organizations on Sunday condemned the arson attack on Beth Israel Congregation and the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life building, Mississippi’s largest synagogue. The suspect, Stephen Spencer Pittman, 19, allegedly set the synagogue on fire early Saturday. The Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) South Central Regional Office issued the statement saying it was “aware and horrified” of the attack, but thankful that no …
'Synagogue of Satan' - Mississippi man laughed, bragged about antisemitic arson
Mississippi man arrested after the state’s largest synagogue was torched identified as 19-year-old Stephen Spencer Pittman, who was hospitalized with burns following the arson. By World Israel News Staff The suspect arrested in connection with the torching of the largest synagogue in Mississippi over the weekend has been identified as 19-year-old Stephen Spencer Pittman, a resident of Madison, Mississippi. Just after 3:00 a.m. on Saturday, a fir…
Mississippi suspect laughed as he confessed to torching Synagogue of Satan FBI
Mississippi suspect laughed as he confessed to torching ‘Synagogue of Satan’ — FBI. Stephen Spencer Pittman burned Jackson congregation due to the ‘building’s Jewish ties,’ criminal complaint says The post Mississippi suspect laughed as he confessed to torching Synagogue of Satan FBI appeared first on Jerusalem World News.
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