A Mississippi grand jury has indicted a 19-year-old man with arson and hate crime charges 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 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.
Caution tape and flowers cover the entrance to the Beth Israel Congregation, a synagogue that was set on fire, January 10, 2026, in Jackson, Miss.
Sophie Bates/AP
“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.
Damage sustained during a fire, Jan. 10, 2026, at Beth Israel Congregation, in Jackson, Miss.
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 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.”
Damage sustained during a fire, Jan. 10, 2026, at Beth Israel Congregation, in Jackson, Miss.
Beth Israel Congregation via AP
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.
Damage sustained during a fire, Jan. 10, 2026, at Beth Israel Congregation, in Jackson, Miss.
Beth Israel Congregation via AP
“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.
Boards cover the charred remains of the Beth Israel Congregation librarym Jan. 12, 2026, which was set on fire early Jan. 10, 2026, in Jackson, Mississippi.
Sophie Bates/AP
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.