Robert Bowers mugshot
White supremacist Robert Bowers has been found guilty of dozens of hate crime and other charges in connection with the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, The Associated Press reported. It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the United States.
Such convictions could lead to his death at the penalty phase of his trial.
Armed with three Glock handguns and a Colt AR-15 rifle, Bowers entered the synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, and fatally shot 11 Jewish congregants: David Rosenthal, 54; Cecil Rosenthal, 59; Richard Gottfried, 65; Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; Irving Younger, 69; Daniel Stein, 71; Joyce Fienberg, 75; Melvin Wax, 88; Bernice Simon, 84; Sylvan Simon, 86; and Rose Mallinger, 97.
Two worshippers were critically injured, and 12 escaped unharmed, prosecutors say.
Bowers was reportedly motivated by conspiracy theories about HIAS, a Jewish charity group that resettles refugees and was formerly known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. Witnesses reported hearing the shooter shout: “All Jews must die.” The attack occurred amid a wave of anti-immigrant paranoia during a heated political season dominated by coverage and speeches about a “migrant caravan” on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The AP reported that Bowers’s attorney Elisa Long cited her client’s “nonsensical and irrational” views in his defense. The news wire reported that an element of his crimes forced prosecutors to prove that Bowers tried to stop people from worshiping.
She claimed his actual goal had been to stop their support of immigrants and refugees, whom he viewed as invaders, according to the AP.
Prosecutor Mary Hahn reportedly focused on Bowers’s hatred rather than his paranoia.
“He is filled with hatred for Jews,” Hahn reportedly said, pointing to his history of posting white supremacist content online on such forums as Gab, a right-wing social media site. “That is what propelled him to act.”
Gab is owned by Andrew Torba, who regularly pushes antisemitic statements. On his own platform, Torba said that the Republican Party needed to be destroyed before another “Zionist bootlicker” got into office, and he’s defended the anti-Jewish rantings of Ye, the musician formerly known as Kanye West.
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His platform, a regular bastion of extremist content, rushed to distance itself from the shooter after the attack put the fringe site under the public glare.
“Gab unequivocally disavows and condemns all acts of terrorism and violence,” the company wrote in a statement.
According to The AP, U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan, reportedly noted that Bowers’ targets weren’t HIAS volunteers, but Jewish people at prayer.
“These aren’t people engaging in refugee assistance,” said Olshan, according to the AP. “These are people who are practicing their faith. And he kept hunting, looking for Jews to kill.”
Bowers’s superseding indictment included 63 charges, including 11 counts of Hate Crime Act Resulting in Death. It is filled with his hateful statements against the Jewish people, particularly posts on Gab, where Bowers wrote that “jews are the children of satan.”
Weeks before his attack, Bowers posted on Gab: “Why hello there HIAS! You like to bring hostile invaders to dwell among us. We appreciate the list of friends you have provided,” according to the indictment.
Before entering the synagogue, Bowers took the same platform to post: “HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.”
The Justice Department will ask for his death at a separate penalty phase of his trial.
Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.
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