A Mississippi grand jury has indicted a 19-year-old man on charges of arson and hate crimes 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 Tuesday that Stephen Spencer Pittman was indicted by a state grand jury on one count of first-degree arson with a hate crime aggravation.
The early Saturday morning fire caused significant damage to the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue and was “allegedly motivated by religious hatred, elevating the case to one of the most serious arson prosecutions available under Mississippi law,” Owens said in a statement.
Caution tape and flowers cover the entrance to Congregation Beth Israel, a synagogue that burned on January 10, 2026 in Jackson, Mississippi.
Sophie Bates/AP
“Hate crimes targeting places of worship strike at the core of who we are as a community and the fundamental right to worship freely and safely,” Owens said. “Mississippi law treats these crimes with the seriousness they demand, including harsher penalties when bias is present.”
Owens added that the indictment reflects “our commitment to fully enforce those laws and ensure that acts intended to intimidate or terrorize religious communities are decisively held accountable.”
If convicted, Spencer faces a prison sentence of up to 60 years, Owens said.
Damage sustained during a fire on January 10, 2026, at Congregation Beth Israel in Jackson, Mississippi.
Beth Israel Congregation via AP
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 his father confronted him, telling him he “finally got them” and referring to the place of worship as “Satan’s synagogue,” according to an FBI affidavit filed in the federal case.
The fire occurred around 3 a.m. Saturday at the historic Congregation Beth Israel temple in Jackson, the same synagogue that was bombed in 1967 by the Ku Klux Klan, authorities said. The FBI said the building also houses the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute for Southern Jewish Life (ISJL).
“The ISJL operates in interstate and foreign commerce, serving Jewish communities” in 13 different states, including Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas, according to the affidavit, and also “offers comprehensive religious school programs to 70 Jewish congregations and offers traveling rabbinical services,” most of which are “provided in states outside the State of Mississippi.”
Damage sustained during a fire on January 10, 2026, at Congregation Beth Israel in Jackson, Mississippi.
Beth Israel Congregation via AP
Pittman’s father contacted the FBI and “advised his son to confess to setting the building on fire,” according to the affidavit, and allegedly texted his father about the fire, saying he “should hit a home run” and that “I investigated,” according to the affidavit.
Pittman allegedly admitted to stopping for gas, removing the license plate from his car, breaking a window at the synagogue, pouring the gasoline inside the building and using a lighter to start the fire, according to the affidavit.
Damage sustained during a fire on January 10, 2026, at Congregation Beth Israel in Jackson, Mississippi.
Beth Israel Congregation via AP
“Pittman was identified as a person of interest and ultimately confessed to starting a fire inside the building due to the building’s Jewish ties,” the affidavit says.
Security video from inside the building “showed that 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 inside the building pouring the contents of what appeared to be a gas container,” the affidavit also says.
Boards cover the charred remains of the January 12, 2026 Congregation Beth Israel library, which was burned to the ground early January 10, 2026 in Jackson, Mississippi.
Sophie Bates/AP
Pittman allegedly sent text messages to his father from the synagogue, writing that there was an “oven” in the back of the building, that he had taken the license plate off his vehicle and that he had “his hoodie on,” according to the affidavit. He also allegedly noted that the synagogue has “the best cameras,” according to the affidavit.
Pittman’s father told authorities that earlier that day, when he confronted his son, he observed burns on his ankles, hands and face, according to the affidavit.
After taking Pittman into custody, agents from the FBI, the Jackson Fire Department and investigators from the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office interviewed him. Pittman allegedly confessed to the investigator that he set fire to the synagogue and said he “set himself on fire during the act,” according to the affidavit.
Pittman also allegedly told authorities that he left his cellphone at the synagogue, according to the affidavit. The FBI later recovered a burned cell phone from the scene, which they believed was Pittman’s, according to the affidavit.
