What we know about the alleged arson at Mississippi’s largest and oldest synagogue

By Zoe Sottile, CNN

(CNN) — It’s the oldest synagogue in Mississippi, a thriving religious center that has served Jackson’s small but vibrant Jewish community for more than half a century.

Now, the Beth Israel synagogue is indefinitely closed, its historic interiors blackened with ash, after authorities say a man set a fire in the building’s library in the early hours of Saturday morning. The FBI says the suspect confessed to attacking the historic synagogue “due to (the) building’s Jewish ties.”

This is the second time the synagogue, which serves a congregation first established in Jackson in 1860, has been attacked with fire, according to its website. In 1967, the building was bombed by members of the Klu Klux Klan, who also bombed the rabbi’s home just months later. The building is also home to the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, which supports Jewish communities in 13 southern states.

The 19-year-old suspect in Saturday’s attack was arrested at a hospital after his father called the FBI, saying his son confessed to him. Location data from a family tracking app helped corroborate his confession.

No one else is believed to have been inside the building and no injuries have been reported from the fire.

Who is the suspect?

Stephen Spencer Pittman has been charged with “arson of property used in interstate commerce or used in an activity affecting interstate commerce,” according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.

Pittman’s father contacted the FBI Saturday and told the agency his son had confessed to setting the building on fire, says the complaint.

The suspect was found at a local hospital with non-life-threatening burn injuries, Charles Felton, chief of investigations for the Jackson Fire Department’s Arson Investigation Division said.

A public defender was appointed to represent the 19-year-old at his first court appearance Monday afternoon. He appeared in federal court via video call from his hospital bed, with both his hands visibly bandaged, according to The Associated Press.

He said he had graduated high school and attended three semesters of college, reports the AP.

Pittman was released to the custody of the US Marshals Service and is scheduled to appear in court again on January 20, court records show.

If Pittman is convicted, he could face anywhere between five and 20 years in prison, the Department of Justice said in a news release. He acted alone, according to the DOJ.

CNN has reached out to Pittman’s public defender for comment.

How did the fire unfold?

CCTV footage shows someone started a fire inside the synagogue early Saturday morning, according to the criminal complaint. The document includes an image showing a “hooded individual” seen “walking in the interior of the building pouring contents from what appeared to be a gas container.”

Pittman told authorities he first stopped at a gas station to buy the gas he used to set the blaze, according to the complaint. At the gas station, he took the license plate off his vehicle, he told authorities.

Once he was at the building, he used an axe to break one of the synagogue’s windows, poured gas inside, and used a torch lighter to start a fire.

The Jackson Fire Department responded to the fire shortly after 3 a.m., where they found flames billowing from the windows. They requested fire investigators, who classified the blaze as “incendiary” based on “fire patterns and video surveillance.”

Investigators determined the fire started in the synagogue’s library, which sustained extensive damage, and continued toward the sanctuary, Felton said. There is smoke damage throughout the building, he said — so the congregation won’t be able to return for some time.

“The fire resulted in extensive damage to a significant portion of the building and rendered it inoperable for an indefinite period of time,” the criminal complaint says.

What evidence are authorities citing against the suspect?

Pittman’s confessions, both to his father and to police, were corroborated by location data and physical evidence, the complaint says.

Data from Life360 — an app that provides real time GPS tracking — shows Pittman traveled from his home in Madison County, then stopped at a gas station in Ridgeland before proceeding to the synagogue, according to the complaint.

He texted his father a photo of the rear of the building, says the complaint. He wrote to his father: “There’s a furnace in the back”; “Btw my plate is off”; “Hoodie is on”; and “And they have the best cameras.” When his father pleaded with him to return home, Pittman replied, “I did my research,” says the complaint.

Later in the day, his father saw burns on Pittman’s ankles, hands and face, says the complaint. When he confronted his son, Pittman confessed to lighting a fire inside the building — and laughed as he did so, according to the complaint.

The FBI found a burned cell phone at the synagogue they believe is Pittman’s, as well as a hand torch.

What is the suspect’s motive?

In his interviews with the FBI and other investigators, Pittman called the building the “synagogue of Satan.” He “ultimately confessed to lighting a fire inside the building due to the building’s Jewish ties,” reads the criminal complaint.

He told his father that he “finally got them” when he confessed to the crime, says the complaint.

Zach Shemper, the congregation’s president, told CNN Monday law enforcement informed him the suspect in the arson attack posted antisemitic comments online. He said he hadn’t seen the posts himself.

Attorney General Pam Bondi characterized the attack as a “disgusting act of anti-Semitic violence” in the DOJ’s news release.

Jackson Mayor John Horhn condemned “acts of antisemitism, racism, and religious hatred” in a statement after the attack.

What damage did the synagogue sustain?

The synagogue sustained significant damage during the attack, and it’s unclear when it’ll be able to reopen.

Photos show the building’s walls and floor covered with ash, with piles of damaged items heaped together.

Several Torah scrolls were destroyed in the fire, according to the American Jewish Committee, which condemned the incident as a “hateful act.”

Shemper said it could take at least a year to repair the building. In the meantime, multiple churches have offered their spaces to Beth Israel.

He said he felt both “sadness” and “anger” when he learned about the blaze.

“When something like this happens so catastrophic, your mind goes 100 miles an hour in every direction you can think of,” Shemper said. “For someone to hurt the safe space that we hold as a congregation, it’s just so detrimental and catastrophic.”

The synagogue served around 170 households as of 2021, according to the Institute for Southern Jewish Life. In addition to providing a home for Jackson’s Jewish community, the institution also served a role in the 20th century civil rights movement. Rabbi Perry Nussbaum, the congregation’s leader from the 1950s to the 70s, supported civil rights activists and helped found an interracial group of clergy to help rebuild Black churches attacked by white supremacists, according to the institute. It was his activism that eventually caught the attention of the KKK, whose members attacked the synagogue and his home, the institute said.

Michele Schipper, one of the congregation’s past presidents, said she was both emotionally distraught and committed to maintaining Jewish community in Jackson.

“I’m devastated,” she said. “We’re all devastated, but we are ready to rebuild, and with the support and outreach from our community, we will continue to be a vibrant Jewish community in Jackson, Mississippi.”

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