Robert Bowers Charged with 63 Counts Including Hate Crimes
Resulting in Death
A federal grand jury sitting in the U.S. District Court for
the Western District of Pennsylvania charged a Pennsylvania man with additional
federal hate crimes and firearms offenses for his conduct during the Oct. 27,
2018, shootings at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Assistant Attorney
General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division, United States Attorney
Scott W. Brady, and FBI-Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Robert Jones made
the announcement.
Robert Bowers, 46, of Baldwin, Pa., was charged in a
63-count superseding indictment returned today. The original indictment filed
on Oct. 31, 2018, charged Bowers with 44 counts. The Superseding Indictment
adds 13 violations of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes
Prevention Act, as well as corresponding counts for discharging a firearm
during those crimes of violence. The
Superseding Indictment specifically alleges that Bowers willfully caused bodily
injury to 11 deceased and two surviving victims because of their actual and
perceived religion.
According to the Superseding Indictment, on Oct. 27, 2018,
Bowers drove to the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where
members of the Tree of Life, Dor Hadash, and New Light Jewish congregations
gathered to engage in religious worship. Bowers entered the building armed with
multiple firearms, including three Glock .357 handguns and a Colt AR-15 rifle.
While inside the Tree of Life Synagogue, Bowers opened fire, killing and
injuring members of the three congregations, as well as injuring multiple
responding public safety officers as they attempted to rescue surviving
victims.
The Superseding Indictment further alleges that on Oct. 10,
2018, Bowers posted statements on the website gab.com that were critical of the
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) and affiliated congregations hosting
refugee-related events. That list of congregations included the Dor Hadash
Jewish congregation of Pittsburgh. In addition, a statement on his profile
expressed the belief that “jews are the children of satan,” and other posts
referred to Jewish people using anti-Semitic slurs. Before entering the Tree of Life Synagogue on
Oct. 27, 2018, Bowers posted the following on the website gab.com: “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.” According to the Superseding Indictment,
while inside the Tree of Life Synagogue, Bowers made statements indicating his
desire to “kill Jews.”
Specifically, the Superseding Indictment charges:
Eleven counts of
obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death;
Eleven counts of
hate crimes resulting in death;
Two counts of
obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs involving an attempt to kill
and use of a dangerous weapon and resulting in bodily injury;
Two counts of hate
crimes involving an attempt to kill;
Eight counts of
obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs involving an attempt to kill
and use of a dangerous weapon, and resulting in bodily injury to public safety
officers;
Four counts of
obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs involving use of a dangerous
weapon and resulting in bodily injury to public safety officers;
Twenty-five counts
of discharge of a firearm during these crimes of violence.
The victims include 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life
Synagogue who were killed, two congregants who were critically injured by
Bowers and 12 congregants who escaped unharmed. Additionally, the victims
include five responding public safety officers who were injured while
attempting to rescue surviving victims and apprehend Bowers.
Assistant United States Attorneys Troy Rivetti and Soo C.
Song, along with Department of Justice Trial Attorney Julia Gegenheimer, are
prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The FBI, with the valuable assistance of the Pittsburgh
Bureau of Police and the Allegheny County Police, conducted the investigation
leading to the Superseding Indictment in this case. Dozens of federal, state
and local law enforcement officers also assisted in the investigation.
Twenty-two counts in the Superseding Indictment are
capital-eligible offenses. Should the Attorney General of the United States
determine that the circumstances of the offenses are such that a sentence of
death is justified, the law requires that notice be filed with the court at a
reasonable time before trial. The defendant further faces a maximum possible
penalty of life without parole, followed by a consecutive sentence of 250 years’
imprisonment.
A Superseding Indictment is a formal accusation of conduct,
not evidence of guilt. A defendant is
presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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