A Mississippi grand jury has indicted a 19-year-old man with arson and hate crime charges stemming from a fire at the only synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi, an act investigators allege the suspect confessed to committing because of the building’s “Jewish ties.”
Hinds County, Mississippi, District Attorney Jody Owens II announced on Tuesday that Stephen Spencer Pittman was indicted by a state grand jury on a first-degree arson charge with a hate crime enhancement.
The fire early Saturday morning caused significant damage to the Beth Israel Congregation synagogue and is “alleged to have been motivated by religious hatred, elevating the case to one of the most serious arson prosecutions available under Mississippi law,” Owens said in a statement.
“Crimes motivated by hate and directed at places of worship strike at the core of who we are as a community and at the fundamental right to worship freely and safely,” Owens said. “Mississippi law treats these offenses with the seriousness they demand, including enhanced penalties when bias is involved.”…