This is the Chronology of Native Americans Burning a Synagogue in Mississippi, FBI: Because of a Jewish Place of Worship

Illustration of a firefighter. (Unsplash-Birgit Lengert)

JAKARTA - A suspect in a case of arson at a synagogue that was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan decades ago admitted that he targeted the historic institution in Mississippi because it was a Jewish place of worship.

At the first hearing related to this case on Monday, January 12, the suspect was present via video conference call from the hospital bed.

The suspect's hands were seen wrapped in bandages. He told the judge that he was a high school graduate and had completed three semesters of college.

According to a written statement by the FBI filed in U.S. District Court in Mississippi, the suspect named Stephen Pittman admitted his actions to his father.

The father then handed him over to the authorities after seeing burn marks on the suspect's ankles, hands, and face.

In this case, the suspect was charged with intentionally damaging or destroying the synagogue building using fire or explosives.

The suspect, aged 19, admitted to setting fire to the building, which he called a "Satanic synagogue".

The public prosecutor said the suspect could face 5 to 20 years in prison if found guilty. When the judge read his rights, Pittman said, "Jesus Christ is Lord."

Chronology of the Mississippi Synagogue Fire

A fire hit the 'Jemaat Beth Israel' synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi, USA, on Saturday, January 10, 2026. There were no injuries in the incident.

Security camera video released at the January 12 hearing by the synagogue showed a masked and hooded man using a gasoline can to pour a liquid on the floor and sofa in the building's lobby.

The weekend fire severely damaged the library and the synagogue's 165-year-old administrative offices.

According to the synagogue congregation, five Torah scrolls - sacred scrolls containing the text of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible - located inside the place of worship are being assessed for damage due to smoke.

Furthermore, two scrolls of the Torah in the library were also destroyed. One scroll of the Torah that survived the Holocaust was behind glass and was not damaged in the fire.

The suspect's father then contacted the FBI and said that his son had confessed to burning the building. Pittman sent a photo of the back of the synagogue to his father via text message before the fire, with the message, "There's a furnace in the back."

His father then begged his son to come home, but "Pittman responded by saying he was going to hit a home run soon and 'I've done my research,'" the FBI's written statement said.

Still in the FBI's written statement, during an interview with investigators, Pittman said he stopped at a gas station on his way to the synagogue to buy gasoline used to burn the Jewish place of worship.

The perpetrator also removed the number plate of his vehicle at the gas station. He used an axe to break the synagogue window, poured gasoline into it, and used a lighter to start the fire.

The FBI later found a burned cell phone believed to belong to Pittman and seized a handheld lighter found by a parishioner.