Updated January 12, 2026 at 7:15 PM EST
A criminal complaint filed by the FBI on Monday alleges Stephen Spencer Pittman, 19, of Madison County, Miss. confessed to setting the state's largest synagogue on fire early Saturday morning because of its "Jewish ties" and referred to it as the "synagogue of Satan."
Pittman made his first appearance in federal court virtually from a hospital bed on Monday, where he was being treated for burns. He did not enter a plea.
Federal prosecutors charged him with arson for the fire that burned Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, the capital city's only synagogue. Flames and smoke caused significant damage and destroyed parts of the revered Jewish place of worship.
"Mississippi stands with the members of Beth Israel Congregation," said Gov. Tate Reeves in a statement on Monday. "This heinous act will never be tolerated, and the perpetrator should face the full and solemn weight of their actions."
Pittman's father contacted the FBI hours after the fire and said his son had admitted to starting it, the complaint alleges. It states that Life360 map data from Pittman's cell phone and text messages to his father further corroborated his confession.
According to the FBI, Pittman traveled from his home early Saturday and stopped at a gas station, before heading to Beth Israel. He then texted his father a picture of the back of the synagogue and a series of messages, which read, "There's a furnace in the back," "BTW my plate is off," "Hoodie is on," and, "they have the best cameras."
Pittman's father pleaded for his son to return home. Pittman replied that he was "due for a homerun," according to the affidavit. The criminal complaint states that Pittman went on to text his father that he had done his "research." The FBI says Pittman's father noticed burns on his son's ankles, hands, and face and confronted him:
"Pittman laughed as he told his father what he did and said he finally got them," the complaint reads.
On Sunday, Zach Shemper, Beth Israel Congregation president, said he was stunned about the fire. "Crazy things happen all over the world and nothing really hits home until it actually hits directly home," he told Mississippi Public Broadcasting. "When it hits home, it's just hard. Honestly, I'm still trying to wrap my own head around it."
Shemper also released a statement saying the synagogue and its 150 families are resilient. "As Jackson's only synagogue, Beth Israel is a beloved institution, and it is the fellowship of our neighbors and extended community that will see us through," he said.
The congregation was founded in 1860, according to Beth Israel's website. In 1967, local Ku Klux Klan members bombed the place of worship and the home of the rabbi at the time, who had spoken out against racism and segregation. No one was hurt in the civil rights-era bombings or Saturday's fire.
Charles Felton, Jackson Fire Department chief of fire investigations, told NPR in an interview that flames and smoke caused extensive damage and destroyed Beth Israel's library, where he says the fire was started.
"All contents in that library are destroyed. There's not much that can be retrieved from the library area. The other portions of the building do not have actual fire damage, but they have damage as far as smoke and soot," he said.
Shemper said the fire destroyed two Torahs, the Jewish sacred texts, and damaged five others. A Torah that survived the Holocaust was protected by a glass display case and was not damaged. The synagogue's Tree of Life plaque honoring congregants' meaningful occasions was destroyed. Shemper said the library, administrative offices and the lobby suffered the most damage.
Authorities say they located Pittman at a local hospital, where he confessed to using an axe to break a synagogue window, poured gasoline inside and then ignited the fire. He was arrested Saturday.
The FBI's complaint also details surveillance video taken from Beth Israel showing a hooded person "pouring contents from what appeared to be a gas can."
Jackson Mayor John Horhn said the city stands with Beth Israel and the Jewish community. "Acts of antisemitism, racism, and religious hatred are attacks on Jackson as a whole and will be treated as acts of terror against residents' safety and freedom to worship," said a statement from the mayor's office.
Several local churches have offered temporary space for Beth Israel to continue services as it rebuilds. "This news puts a face and name to this tragedy, but does not change our resolve to proudly — even defiantly — continue Jewish life in Jackson in the face of hatred," the synagogue said in a statement late Monday.
Gov. Reeves says he has directed officials in Mississippi to pursue state charges.
The attack comes after investigators say a father and son gunned down Jewish people celebrating Hanukkah on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, last month. Fifteen people were killed and dozens were injured.
Mississippi Public Broadcasting's Shamira Muhammad contributed reporting from Jackson.
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