'Suspect in Mississippi synagogue fire laughed as he confessed to his dad, authorities say'
"The man suspected of setting fire to Mississippi’s largest synagogue allegedly confessed his crimes to law enforcement and referred to the building in northeast Jackson as the 'synagogue of Satan,'according to a federal court document filed Monday."
"Stephen Spencer Pittman, 19, of Madison – who usually goes by his middle name – is facing federal charges for using fire to maliciously damage or destroy a building involved in interstate commerce, according to a probable cause affidavit in the U.S. Southern District of Mississippi."
"The Beth Israel Congregation synagogue also houses the offices of the Institute for Southern Jewish Life, which provides school programs and traveling rabbinical services to Jewish congregations across the South."
"The predawn fire Saturday reduced the historic synagogue’s library and administrative offices to charred ruins and left smoke damage throughout the building, the same one the Ku Klux Klan bombed in 1967 for its rabbi’s support of civil rights."
"In a striking parallel, Pittman is alleged to have set fire to the same part of the octagonal building that burned in the 1967 attack – a wing facing a parking lot exit on Old Canton Road."
"Pittman appeared in federal court on Monday afternoon via video conference, accompanied by a public defender. He affirmed to the judge, Andrew Harris, that he was competent and sober. Pittman appeared to be leaning back in his chair, gazing away from the camera. When the judge asked him if he understood his rights to an attorney, Pittman responded, 'Yes sir, Jesus Christ is Lord.' "
https://mississippitoday.org/2026/01/12/mississippi-synagogue-fire-suspect-named/
A KKK-adjacent 19-year-old rightwing christian yahoo burning down a synagogue isn't part of the Trump narrative.
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