Federal prosecutors say the man accused of torching Mississippi’s oldest and largest synagogue admitted he selected the building because of its connection to Judaism.
Authorities arrested a suspect, Stephen Spencer Pittman, Saturday night. Investigators said an intentionally set fire gutted Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Miss. Federal prosecutors said Monday that the man charged with torching the synagogue admitted he targeted the building because of its “Jewish ties,” after police arrested him at a hospital where he was treated for burn injuries from the early-morning fire, according to The New York Times.
Investigators identified Pittman after his father contacted the FBI and reported that his son had confessed to starting the fire, according to an affidavit filed in federal court Monday. Location data from a tracking app running on Pittman’s cellphone reinforced that account, showing him leaving his home in a Jackson suburb, stopping at a gas station to buy fuel, and then driving directly to the synagogue.
We are outraged by the arson attack that severely damaged Beth Israel Congregation, the largest synagogue in Mississippi.
While no one was hurt, the synagogue was extensively damaged, several Torah scrolls were destroyed, and the congregation— the only synagogue in Jackson —… pic.twitter.com/CkPqLLFMeR
Should more security measures be implemented at synagogues following the Mississippi arson case?— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) January 11, 2026
Prosecutors say Pittman sent his father text messages and photographs from the synagogue before igniting the blaze. In those messages, Pittman said he wore a hoodie and removed his vehicle’s license plate to avoid identification. He pointed out features inside the building, including a furnace in the back, and commented on what he believed were high-end security cameras. His father repeatedly urged him to come home, the affidavit states.
Investigators allege Pittman broke a window, entered the building, spread gasoline throughout the interior, and set the fire using a torch lighter. Security camera footage captured a hooded figure pouring liquid inside the synagogue shortly before flames engulfed the structure.
Prior to this incident, another high-profile attack targeted a synagogue in Manchester, England, where a man killed two people outside the building, highlighting broader security concerns surrounding Jewish houses of worship. The suspect, Jihad al-Shamie, was reportedly free on bail at the time of the synagogue attack after previously facing an alleged rape charge.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public/Tony Webster, CC BY-SA 4.0)
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