一个密西西比州大陪审团指控一名19岁的男子犯有纵火罪和仇恨罪密西西比州杰克逊唯一的犹太教堂失火，act调查人员声称，嫌疑人承认犯罪是因为该建筑的“犹太人联系”。
密西西比州海因兹县地方检察官乔迪·欧文斯二世周二宣布，斯蒂芬·斯潘塞·皮特曼被州大陪审团指控犯有一级纵火罪，并加剧了仇恨犯罪。
欧文斯在一份声明中说，周六早上的火灾对贝丝以色列教堂造成了重大损失，“据称是出于宗教仇恨，将此案升级为密西西比州法律下最严重的纵火案之一”。
欧文斯说:“由仇恨引发并针对礼拜场所的犯罪，打击了我们作为一个社区的核心，以及自由和安全礼拜的基本权利。”"密西西比州的法律严肃对待这些违法行为，包括当涉及偏见时加重处罚."
欧文斯补充说，起诉书反映了“我们致力于全面执行这些法律，并确保旨在恐吓或恐吓宗教社区的行为受到决定性的问责。”
欧文斯说，如果罪名成立，斯潘塞将面临长达60年的监禁。
该州的指控是在联邦检察官指控皮特曼纵火焚烧用于州际商业或用于影响州际商业活动的财产的一天后宣布的。
根据美国联邦调查局在联邦案件中提交的一份宣誓书，皮特曼据称在面对父亲时对犹太教堂袭击事件一笑置之，告诉父亲“他终于抓住了他们”，并将这个礼拜场所称为“撒旦的犹太教堂”。
官员们说，火灾发生在周六凌晨3点左右，地点是杰克逊具有历史意义的贝丝以色列教堂，1967年三k党炸毁了这座教堂。美国联邦调查局称，该建筑还包括南部犹太人生活戈德林/沃尔登伯格研究所(ISJL)。
根据宣誓书，ISJL在州际和外国商业领域开展业务，为包括密西西比州、阿拉巴马州和阿肯色州在内的13个不同州的犹太社区提供服务，还“为70个犹太教会提供全面的宗教学校课程，并提供巡回拉比服务”，其中大部分服务“在密西西比州以外的州提供”
根据证词，皮特曼的父亲联系了美国联邦调查局，并“建议他的儿子承认放火烧了这栋楼”，据称，他给父亲发了关于火灾的短信，说他“应该打一个全垒打”，“我做了研究”，根据证词。
根据证词，皮特曼据称承认停下来购买汽油，从他的汽车上取下他的车牌，打破了犹太教堂的窗户，将汽油倒入建筑物内，并用打火机点火。
“皮特曼被认定为嫌疑人，并最终承认在大楼里放了一把火，因为大楼与犹太人有联系，”证词说。
宣誓书称，大楼内部的安全视频“显示，火灾是由大楼内的一个人在2026年1月10日凌晨引发的”。
“可以看到一个蒙面人在大楼内部行走，从一个似乎是气体容器的东西中倒出东西，”证词还说。
根据证词，皮特曼据称从犹太教堂给他的父亲发短信，写道大楼后面有一个“火炉”，他已经从他的车上取下了他的车牌，他“穿着帽衫”。证词称，据称他还指出，犹太教堂有“最好的摄像头”。
根据证词，皮特曼的父亲告诉当局，当天晚些时候，当他面对儿子时，他看到儿子的脚踝、手和脸上有烧伤。
拘留皮特曼后，美国联邦调查局特工、杰克森消防局和海因茨县治安官办公室的调查人员对他进行了讯问。据称，皮特曼向调查人员承认，他放火焚烧了犹太教堂，并说他“在行动中着火了，”证词说。
证词称，皮特曼据称还告诉当局，他把手机留在了犹太教堂。证词说，美国联邦调查局后来从现场找到了一部被烧毁的手机，他们认为这是皮特曼的。
19-year-old suspect in Mississippi synagogue fire indicted on state hate crime charges
A Mississippi grand jury has indicted a 19-year-old man with arson and hate crime charges stemming from afire 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."
Owens added that the indictment reflects "our commitment to enforcing those laws fully and ensuring that acts intended to intimidate or terrorize religious communities are met with decisive accountability."
If convicted, Spencer faces a prison sentence of up to 60 years, Owens said.
The state charges were announced a day after federal prosecutors charged Pittman with arson of property used in interstate commerce or used in an activity affecting interstate commerce.
Pittman allegedly laughed about the synagogue attack when confronted by his father, telling his dad "he finally got them” and referring to the place of worship as the "synagogue of Satan," according to an FBI affidavit filed in the federal case.
The fire occurred around 3 a.m. on Saturday at the historic Beth Israel Congregation temple in Jackson, the same synagogue that was bombed in 1967 by the Ku Klux Klan, officials said. The FBI said the building also houses the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL).
"The ISJL operates in interstate and foreign commerce as it provides services to Jewish communities" in 13 different states, including Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas, according to the affidavit, and also "provides comprehensive religious school programs to 70 Jewish congregations and offers traveling rabbinical services," most of which "are delivered in states outside the State of Mississippi."
Pittman's father contacted the FBI and "advised his son confessed to setting the building on fire," according to the affidavit, and allegedly sent text messages to his father about the blaze, saying he was "due for a homerun" and "I did my research," according to the affidavit.
Pittman allegedly admitted to stopping to purchase gasoline, taking his license plate off of his car, breaking a window at the synagogue, pouring the gasoline inside of the building and using a torch lighter to start the fire, according to the affidavit.
"Pittman was identified as a person of interest and ultimately confessed to lighting a fire inside the building due to the building's Jewish ties," the affidavit said.
Security video from inside the building "showed the fire was started by an individual inside the building in the early morning hours of January 10, 2026," according to the affidavit.
"A hooded individual can be seen walking in the interior of the building pouring contents from what appeared to be a gas container," the affidavit also said.
Pittman allegedly sent text messages to his father from the synagogue, writing that there was a “furnace” in the back of the building, that he had removed his license plate from his vehicle, and that his “hoodie is on,” according to the affidavit. He also allegedly noted that the synagogue has “the best cameras,” the affidavit said.
Pittman’s father told authorities that later that day that when he confronted his son, he observed burns on his son’s ankles, hands and face, according to the affidavit.
After detaining Pittman, the FBI agents, the Jackson Fire Department and Hinds County Sheriff’s Office investigators interviewed him. Pittman allegedly confessed to the investigator that he set fire to the synagogue and said that he “caught himself on fire during the act," the affidavit said.
Pittman also allegedly told authorities that he left his cell phone in the synagogue, the affidavit said. The FBI later recovered a burned cell phone from the scene, which they believed to be Pittman's, the affidavit said.
