A federal judge has set a new trial date of June 1 for the Madison man accused of setting fire to Mississippi’s largest synagogue.
Stephen Spencer Pittman’s trial originally was scheduled to start next Monday. He is facing three federal charges of arson, damage to religious property and using fire to commit a felony for allegedly burning the Beth Israel Congregation synagogue in northeast Jackson in January.
This photo provided to Mississippi Today, of a Snapchat account labeled “Spencer,” shows Stephen Spencer Pittman, 19, who has been indicted on state and federal arson charges in the Jan. 10, 2026, fire that heavily damaged Mississippi’s largest synagogue.
Pittman, who usually goes by his middle name, has pleaded not guilty to all counts. He is accused of breaking into the house of worship and dousing the lobby in gasoline before setting it on fire. The blaze charred parts of the one-story brick building and left smoke damage throughout.
U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate on Thursday granted a request from Pittman’s defense attorney, federal public defender Michael Scott, to delay the trial so Scott could meet with Pittman, review discovery and investigate the charges.
Federal prosecutors did not oppose Scott’s motion.
In state court, Pittman faces a separate first-degree arson charge with an enhancement under a Mississippi law punishing “offenses committed for discriminatory reasons.” A Hinds County grand jury swiftly indicted Pittman after he was arrested by law enforcement at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where he was being treated for burns just a few hours after the synagogue fire.
Despite his attorney’s efforts, Pittman remains in jail after another U.S. Magistrate Court Judge LaKeysha Greer Isaac deemed him a threat to public safety at a detention hearing in February.
In the weeks before the synagogue was attacked, Pittman allegedly began making antisemitic statements and behaving in such a way that the “family pets were afraid” of him and his mother was considering “locking their bedroom doors at night,” an FBI agent testified at the February hearing.
