The man charged with arson for setting a fire that severely damaged the oldest and largest synagogue in Mississippi told investigators that he had targeted the site because of its “Jewish ties,” federal prosecutors disclosed on Monday.
The man, identified as Stephen Spencer Pittman, was arrested on Saturday for the fire early that morning that tore through Beth Israel, the lone synagogue in Jackson, the state capital, the authorities said. He was taken into custody at a hospital in the Jackson area, where he was being treated for burn injuries.
Investigators were led to Mr. Pittman after his father called the F.B.I. and said his son had told him that he was responsible, according to an affidavit filed in federal court on Monday. A location-tracking app that Mr. Pittman had running on his cellphone also documented his movements as he left his home in a suburb of Jackson, stopped at a gas station to buy fuel and continued on to the synagogue.
He sent his father, who was not named in the affidavit, text messages and photos from the synagogue before the fire, saying that he was wearing a hoodie and had taken the license plate off his vehicle.
“There’s a furnace in the back,” Mr. Pittman wrote.
“And they have the best cameras,” he added, noting how expensive he believed they were.
His father pleaded for him to come home, the affidavit said.
The authorities said that Mr. Pittman had broken a window, gone inside, poured gasoline throughout the building and ignited the fire using a torch lighter. Security camera footage captured a man in a hood pouring liquid.
Efforts to reach a lawyer for Mr. Pittman on Monday were unsuccessful. He was set to have an initial court appearance in federal court on Monday.
The fire was set in the synagogue’s library and reduced it and surrounding rooms to charred ruins. Two Torahs were destroyed and several others were harmed. Smoke damage occurred throughout the building.
Mr. Pittman had been burned by the fire, the authorities said. Later in the day on Saturday, his father noticed the injuries to his face, hands and ankles, and he confronted his son, according to the affidavit. Mr. Pittman’s father told investigators that his son had said that he started a fire at the synagogue. The son laughed. He told his father he “finally got them,” according to the affidavit.
After his arrest, Mr. Pittman confessed again in an interview with local law enforcement officials. He called the place of worship the “synagogue of Satan.”
The synagogue was bombed in 1967 by the Ku Klux Klan.
Rick Rojas is the Atlanta bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the South.
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