Federal Hate-Crime and Arson Prosecutions

The FBI says 19‑year‑old Stephen Spencer Pittman confessed to setting fire to Jackson’s 165‑year‑old Beth Israel Congregation, telling his father — while laughing — that he “finally got them” and calling the building “the synagogue of Satan,” after buying gasoline, removing his license plate, breaking a window with an ax and dousing the synagogue on security video. Two Torahs were destroyed and five more are being assessed; Pittman was arrested after his father turned him in, pleaded not guilty at a Jan. 20 arraignment and is being held on federal and state charges including a hate‑crime enhancement, while the attack has prompted nationwide donations, interfaith vigils and offers of temporary worship space and replacement Torahs — a painful echo of a 1967 KKK bombing of the same congregation.