{"id":405506,"date":"2026-01-13T23:48:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T23:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/405506\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T23:48:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T23:48:19","slug":"stephen-spencer-pittman-what-we-know-about-mississippi-synagogue-fire-suspect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/405506\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Spencer Pittman: What we know about Mississippi synagogue fire suspect"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Hours before a destructive arson fire at the oldest synagogue in Mississippi<\/a>, the 19-year-old suspect posted an antisemitic meme on Instagram, an account that appears to belong to him shows.\n <\/p>\n

\n Stephen Spencer Pittman, identified by the FBI as the person responsible for an early-morning fire Saturday at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, attacked the historic site \u2013 leaving its walls severely charred and forcing it to close indefinitely \u2013 \u201cdue to (the) building\u2019s Jewish ties,\u201d according to an FBI criminal complaint.\n <\/p>\n

\n By evening, the 19-year-old was arrested at a hospital and charged with \u201carson of property used in interstate commerce or used in an activity affecting interstate commerce\u201d after his father called the bureau, saying his son confessed to him, the complaint filed Monday said. If convicted, Pittman could face between five and 20 years in prison, the Department of Justice said in a news release<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n CNN has reached out to Pittman\u2019s family and attorney for comment.\n <\/p>\n

\n Here\u2019s what we know about the teen:\n <\/p>\n

\n As a student, Pittman was a high achiever. He made honor roll in high school at St. Joseph Catholic School in nearby Madison more than once and his grades in college earned him a spot<\/a> on a National Junior College Athletic Association All-Academic Team, which recognizes student-athletes for their academic commitment.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe actions attributed to the accused individual are senseless, reprehensible, and wholly incompatible with the values taught by the Catholic Church and upheld in our Catholic schools,\u201d the high school told CNN on Tuesday of its former student, without mentioning Pittman by name. The school said it stands in solidarity with Beth Israel Congregation and the Jewish community.\n <\/p>\n

\"Synagogue<\/p>\n

\n After high school, Pittman attended and played baseball at Coahoma Community College in northwest Mississippi, its president, Valmadge T. Towner, told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe condemn hate crimes and acts of violence in all forms,\u201d Towner wrote in a statement.\n <\/p>\n

\n A Facebook post made by the college in January 2025 described the suspect as a freshman outfielder majoring in biology.\n <\/p>\n

\n Surveillance footage from inside the building shows the fire was started early Saturday by someone in a hooded sweatshirt holding a gasoline container, the complaint says.\n <\/p>\n

\n While at the building, Pittman texted his father a photo of the back of Beth Israel Congregation with the following messages: \u201cThere\u2019s a furnace in the back,\u201d \u201cBtw my plate is off,\u201d \u201cHoodie is on,\u201d and \u201cAnd they have the best cameras,\u201d according to the complaint.\n <\/p>\n

\n Over text, Pittman\u2019s father pleaded for him to return home but the teen replied he was due for a \u201chomerun\u201d and \u201cI did my research.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Later in the day, his father saw burns on Pittman\u2019s ankles, hands and face, the complaint says. Before talking to authorities, Pittman told his father through laughter that he broke a window of the Beth Israel Congregation building, went inside and lit it on fire, the criminal complaint says, noting Pittman told his father \u201che finally got them.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Pittman acted alone, according to the DOJ<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n The FBI found a burned cell phone at the synagogue it believes is Pittman\u2019s, as well as a hand torch. Data from Life360, an app that provides real-time GPS tracking, shows Pittman traveled from his home in Madison County and stopped at a gas station in Ridgeland \u2013 just north of Jackson \u2013 before going to the synagogue, according to the complaint.\n <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n Hours before the incident, a post on an Instagram account that appears to belong to Pittman shows a video clip of a caricature resembling the antisemitic meme \u201cThe Happy Merchant.\u201d The meme depicts a Jewish man with \u201cheavily stereotyped features\u201d as greedy, according to the Anti-Defamation League.<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

\n Pittman\u2019s social media bios describe him as a \u201cfollower of Christ\u201d and a \u201cFitness\/ High Drive Coach\u201d who can \u201chelp you get shredded, boost testosterone, drive, & discipline.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n On Instagram posts and a website registered to him, Pittman references Bible verses and promises to help clients achieve a \u201cfaith-based transformation.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Pittman was found at a local hospital with non-life-threatening burn injuries<\/a>, said Charles Felton, chief of investigations for the Jackson Fire Department\u2019s Arson Investigation Division.\n <\/p>\n

\n Monday, Pittman appeared in federal court via video conference call from a hospital bed with his hands visibly bandaged, The Associated Press reported. When read his rights at the hearing, Pittman said, \u201cJesus Christ is Lord,\u201d the outlet reported.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hours before a destructive arson fire at the oldest synagogue in Mississippi, the 19-year-old suspect posted an antisemitic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":405507,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-405506","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-united-states-of-america","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}