The suspect in the Saturday arson of the Jackson Beth Israel synagogue had laughed when relating his alleged crime to his father, and described the house of worship as satanic when admitting his actions to authorities, according to a FBI affidavit and Justice Department press release.
Madison, Mississippi resident Stephen Spencer Pittman was alleged to have used an axe to break a window of Jackson’s only synagogue before dawn, and entered to pour gasoline and set the house of worship ablaze.
The 19 year old suspect reportedly set himself on fire during the act, and revived burns to his ankles, hands, and face. During the incident, Pittman reportedly left in the synagogue a hand torch and a cell phone.
Before and after the alleged crime, the suspect was in contact with his father about his intentions and actions. Pittman ignore his father’s pleas to return home, and allegedly told his father that he was due to for a “home run.” When confronted by his father at home, Pittman allegedly laughed when relating the crime and added that he “finally got them.”
Pittman’s father contacted the FBI about the confession, and law enforcement corroborated the report with GPS data and the text conversation.
After being arrested, Pittman allegedly told law enforcement in an interview how he had conducted his arson in what he termed the “synagogue of Satan.”
According to the Justice Department, the fire damaged a significant part of the synagogue, rendering it inoperable for an indefinite period of time.
Bondi seeks severe penalties for synagogue arson
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that she directed prosecutors to seek “severe penalties for this heinous act.”
“This disgusting act of anti-Semitic violence has no place in our country, and unlike the prior administration, this Department of Justice will not let anti-Semitism fester and flourish,” said Bondi.
FBI director Kash Patel assured the American Jewish community that the agency would not waver from its duty to protect them from antisemitic attacks.
“Every American has a fundamental right to live and worship free from violence and fear,” said Patel.
The congregation has a history of being targeted with antisemitic violence. The congregation was first established in 1860, according to its website, establishing the first synagogue in the state inside a wooden schoolhouse. The schoolhouse burned down in 1874 and was replaced with a brick building until 1940, when it moved to a new site on Woodrow Wilson Avenue.
The Woodrow Wilson Avenue site was bombed by local Ku Klux Klan members in 1967, and the rabbi’s home was bombed by the same group two months later, though no one was harmed.
The congregation moved to its current location on Old Canton Road the same year and has served as the sole synagogue for the city since.