Man Charged With Setting Fire to Mississippi Synagogue Targeted It Due to Its ‘Jewish Ties,’ FBI Says

Stephen Spencer Pittman was charged on Jan. 12 with maliciously damaging or destroying a building by means of fire or an explosive, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Mississippi.

The blaze, which tore through the Beth Israel Congregation, the only synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi, early on the morning of Jan. 10, destroyed two of the synagogue’s Torahs as well as its library and offices. Several other Torahs belonging to the congregation were damaged, though no injuries were reported.

During an interview with the FBI and local law enforcement on Jan. 10, Pittman confessed that he had set fire to the synagogue, which he referred to as a “synagogue of Satan,” according to the affidavit.

According to social media accounts that appeared to belong to Pittman, he is originally from Madison, Mississippi, and is a baseball player at Coahoma Community College. (A student athlete profile for Pittman has since been deleted from the school’s athletics page.)

An X account that appeared to belong to Pittman featured a link to a website that promotes “Scripture-backed fitness” as well as a Bible quote that read, “In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”

Pittman told the FBI that he had stopped at a gas station on his way to the synagogue to purchase the gas used in the fire, removed his license plates, broken a window in the building with an ax to gain entry and used a torch lighter to start the fire. The FBI discovered a cellphone and a hand torch believed to belong to Pittman at the scene.