Overview
- Stephen Pittman was charged Monday with maliciously damaging a building by fire or explosives in the blaze at Congregation Beth Israel in Jackson.
- An FBI affidavit says Pittman admitted setting the fire because of the synagogue’s “Jewish ties” and referred to it as “the synagogue of Satan.”
- Pittman’s father alerted authorities after noticing burns on his son; investigators say the suspect bought gasoline, removed his license plate, broke a window with an axe and used a torch to start the fire.
- No injuries were reported, but the blaze severely damaged offices and the library, destroyed two Torah scrolls and left others exposed to smoke, while a Holocaust-surviving Torah was unharmed behind glass.
- The FBI and ATF are assisting the investigation at the Reform congregation, which was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1967, as local and national leaders condemn the attack.