Three days after flames engulfed the historic Beth Israel Congregation, destroying part of Jackson’s only synagogue, state prosecutors have charged alleged perpetrator Stephen Spencer Pittman with first-degree arson of a place of worship, enhanced with a hate-crime penalty.
Pittman, a white 19-year-old man from Madison, Mississippi, remains hospitalized from injuries authorities say he acquired during the alleged commission of Saturday’s attack on Beth Israel. After being arraigned on federal charges on Monday while declaring “Jesus Christ is Lord” to a federal judge, he is expected to face preliminary court hearings next Tuesday, Jan. 20.
District Attorney Jody Owens released a statement as he announced the indictment on Tuesday.
“Beth Israel Congregation has endured violence in its history, including a 1967 Ku Klux Klan bombing during the civil-rights era, and this case arises amid a documented increase in attacks on houses of worship across the United States, including arson, vandalism, and other acts of target violence,” he said. “Such crimes are intended to intimidate entire religious communities. Violence directed at any place of worship, regardless of faith, will not be tolerated in Jackson, Mississippi.”
A Hinds County grand jury quickly returned a true bill for Pittman’s charges. The indictment alleges that he “did wilfully and maliciously set fire to and burn a synagogue, to wit: Beth Israel Synagogue,” and further alleges that “the offense … was committed because of the actual or perceived religion of the victim.”
First-degree arson of a place of worship is punishable by a sentence of five to 30 years. The hate-crime enhancement could double that penalty to up to 60 years, Owens noted in his press release.
Pittman is a graduate of St. Joseph Catholic School in Jackson and a former baseball player at Coahoma Community College. Pittman’s father turned him in to the authorities after noticing burns on his face, hands and ankles.
An affidavit filed after Pittman’s arrest alleges he confessed to the arson attack, which destroyed part of Beth Israel, including its library and multiple Torahs. The affidavit said he referred to the Jewish religious center as “the synagogue of Satan,” a common slur used by white nationalists to denigrate Jews.
“Crimes motivated by hate and directed at places of worship strike at the core of who we are as a community and at the fundamental right to worship freely and safely,” Owens said.