Suspect in Mississippi arson confesses to targeting synagogue because of ‘Jewish ties’

Stephen Spencer Pittman called Beth Israel Congregation the ‘synagogue of Satan’ in an interview with the Jackson Fire Department

By Haley Cohen

The suspect in an arson attack that destroyed Mississippi’s largest synagogue early Saturday morning confessed to targeting the building because of its “Jewish ties,” the FBI announced on Monday.

In an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Mississippi more than 48 hours after the attack, the FBI said the suspect, Stephen Spencer Pittman, 19, admitted to starting the blaze at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Miss., due to “the building’s Jewish ties” and referred to the institution as the “synagogue of Satan” in an interview with the Jackson Fire Department.

Pittman was charged with “maliciously damaging or destroying a building by means of fire or an explosive.” 

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