Synagogue massacre suspect appears in court; Trump to visit grieving Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - Shackled to a wheelchair, the man accused of fatally shooting 11 worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue made a stony-faced, largely silent appearance on Monday in a federal courtroom, where he was ordered held without bond in the deadliest attack ever on America’s Jewish community.
The arraignment of accused gunman Robert Bowers came as the White House said U.S. President Donald Trump would visit Pittsburgh on Tuesday to pay respects to the victims, a move opposed by the mayor and some of the city’s Jewish leaders.
Bowers, 46, wounded in a gunfight with police on Saturday at the Tree of Life synagogue before his arrest, acknowledged the 29 felony counts against him, including charges of violating U.S. civil rights laws in what federal prosecutors are treating as a hate crime.
If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
A judge ordered Bowers, a onetime truck driver known to frequently post anti-Semitic material online and described by neighbors as a loner, to remain in federal custody and be assigned a defense attorney by the court. His next hearing was set for Thursday.
The synagogue massacre has heightened debate over the inflammatory rhetoric used by Trump, with critics, including Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, saying it had fostered a climate of political hostility and encouraged right-wing extremism.
“Yes, words matter,” Peduto, a Democrat, said during a CNN interview on Monday. He also said he believed Trump should wait until all the funerals were held before coming to Pittsburgh.
The president and first lady planned to travel on Tuesday to Pennsylvania to “express the support of the American people and grieve with the Pittsburgh community,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said at a briefing.
Over the weekend, Trump branded Saturday’s shooting an act of pure evil but also told reporters the slaying might have been prevented had an armed guard been present at the synagogue.
The Trump administration has rejected the notion he has encouraged white nationalists and neo-Nazis who have embraced him. But a group of local Jewish leaders told Trump in an open letter on Monday he was “not welcome in Pittsburgh until you fully denounce white nationalism.”
More than 27,000 people have signed the letter, organized and posted online by the Pittsburgh chapter of Bend the Arc, a Jewish organization focused on opposing “the immoral agenda of the Trump administration and the Republican Party.”
Tree of Life Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, said, however, on ABC on Monday that the president of the United States was always welcome to visit.
TOXIC ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Trump previously drew condemnation from Democrats and Republicans alike for saying that “many sides” were to blame for violence that erupted last year during a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and during a torch-lit march the night before by hundreds of right-wing demonstrators chanting: “White lives matter” and “Jews will not replace us.”
Trump’s visit will take place just a week before the hotly contested Nov. 6 congressional elections, which will determine if Trump’s Republicans keep a majority in Congress. His appearance in Pittsburgh also will coincide with the first funerals for some of the slain worshipers.
Tradition in the Jewish faith holds that the dead are to be buried within 24 hours, but the imperative of medical examinations and the logistical difficulty of planning 11 funerals at once have led to their delays.
People gather for a candlelight vigil held following a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, in Queens, New York, U.S., October 29, 2018. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
Bowers is accused of storming into the Tree of Life temple in Squirrel Hill, a neighborhood that is the heart of Pittsburgh’s close-knit Jewish community, yelling: “All Jews must die” as he opened fire on members of three congregations holding Sabbath prayer services there on Saturday morning.
In addition to the 11 mostly elderly worshipers who were killed, six people, including four police officers who confronted the gunman, were wounded before the suspect surrendered. Two of the surviving victims remained hospitalized in critical condition.
“Robert Bowers murdered 11 people who were exercising their religious beliefs,” U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said after the arraignment, adding a grand jury would hear details of the crime within 30 days.
TEAM OF SHARPSHOOTERS
Bowers’ arraignment was marked by a heavy security presence that included police officers with dogs and a team of sharpshooters at the federal court in Pittsburgh.
Wearing a blue sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, sandals and white socks, with a crewcut and bald spot, Bowers remained expressionless throughout the short hearing.
Bowers said nothing during the proceedings except to give his name, acknowledge he understood the charges against him and that he lacked funds to pay for an attorney. He spoke in a calm voice and signed the papers handed to him with a steady hand.
Only at the end of the hearing when he was wheeled out of the courtroom did Bowers appear unsettled, turning his head in apparent confusion.
According to an affidavit filed in the case by the FBI, three handguns and an AR-15 rifle were recovered at the scene.
Slideshow (15 Images)
The complaint quoted Bowers as saying to one law enforcement officer, in substance: “They’re committing genocide to my people. I just want to kill Jews.”
He is charged with 11 counts of obstruction of the exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death and 11 counts of using a firearm to commit murder - one count for each worshiper killed. Seven other counts of civil rights and firearms offenses stem from the injury of police officers during the assault.
Reporting by Chriss Swaney and Jessica Resnick-Ault; Writing by Steve Gorman and Nick Zieminski; Editing by Bill Tarrant, Cynthia Osterman and Peter Cooney
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