19-Year-Old Charged After Arson Ravages Jackson Synagogue Over “Jewish Ties,” FBI Says
A 19-year-old Mississippi man has been charged with intentionally setting fire to the only synagogue in Jackson because of its Jewish identity, authorities said, raising fear and outrage over targeted religious violence. According to the FBI and local officials, the attack early Saturday at the Beth Israel Congregation was motivated by the building’s “Jewish ties,” a federal affidavit says.
The fire heavily damaged the historic Beth Israel Congregation’s library and administrative offices in the pre-dawn blaze, though no congregants were present or injured. The synagogue, founded in 1860 and central to Mississippi’s Jewish life, had previously been bombed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1967 because of its rabbi’s civil-rights advocacy, making the latest attack painfully resonant for the community.
State and federal law enforcement say Stephen Spencer Pittman, of Madison, Mississippi, admitted to setting the fire and called the synagogue the “synagogue of Satan” when questioned. His father reported him after observing burn injuries and a confession, officials said. Pittman was hospitalized for burns before being taken into custody.
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A Hinds County grand jury returned a first-degree arson indictment with a hate-crime enhancement, which under Mississippi law could increase Pittman’s prison exposure to up to 60 years. Federal authorities have also charged him with arson of a building used in interstate commerce.
“Crimes motivated by hate and directed at places of worship strike at the core of who we are,” Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens II said in announcing the indictment.
The attack has drawn national condemnation from civil rights groups and religious leaders, who see this as part of a broader rise in anti-Jewish violence.
What to expect…
Pittman is scheduled to appear again in court later this month as prosecutors and defense attorneys prepare for preliminary hearings. The synagogue’s leaders say they are working to rebuild and maintain regular services despite the damage.
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