Synagogue murder suspect appears in court
As funerals for 11 victims are set to begin, Trump plans to visit Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH — The man accused of killing 11 people in a synagogue here appeared in court Monday, two days after a massacre that tore through this community and set off new waves of fear and acrimony in the U.S.
Robert Bowers, 46, had not been publicly seen since the bloodshed at the Tree of Life synagogue during Shabbat services on Saturday morning. Authorities said he stalked through the synagogue, gunning down 11 people, before engaging in a gun battle with police officers while declaring that he wanted “to kill Jews.”
Bowers, who police said had multiple gunshot wounds, was hospitalized until Monday morning.
As the Pittsburgh area prepares for a grim procession of funerals, investigators have been poring over Bowers’ life, examining his actions leading up to the attack and his online postings.
The man authorities say carried out the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history presented an unnerving paradox, offering an unremarkable public facade in person that contrasted with a raging online presence.
A social media account with Bowers’ name repeatedly posted comments rife with anti-Semitism and other bigotry, but people who encountered him described him as an unremarkable loner who gave off no indications of that hatred. People who knew him said he was a truck driver rarely seen socializing; high school classmates said they had no memories of him at all.
Bowers faces more than two dozen federal charges, including hate crime counts for which prosecutors say they hope to seek the death penalty. He also faces state charges, among them 11 counts of homicide.
During a court appearance just a few kilometres from the carnage-ridden synagogue, Bowers, seated in a wheelchair, was denied bail and only spoke to answer questions posed by the judge. He was discharged from the hospital on Monday morning, about 48 hours after the massacre at the synagogue began.
Federal marshals wheeled Bowers, wearing a blue sweatshirt and grey sweatpants, into the courtroom at 1:30 p.m. He appeared coherent and aware of what was going on, answering “Yes” when the judge asked him his name and whether he had requested a public defender because he could not afford his own lawyer. When Magistrate Judge Robert Mitchell read the charges against him — including obstruction of exercise of religious belief resulting in death — and asked if Bowers understood them, he replied: “Yes sir.”
It did not appear that any friends or family of Bowers attended. Jon Pushinsky, 64, a member of one of the congregations that meets at Tree of Life, came to the court hearing in a show of strength on its behalf after the attack.
“It was important to be here to show our congregation remains strong and will stand up, even in the face of evil,” he said.
Scott Brady, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, has begun the process of seeking the death penalty in the case, a decision that rests with the attorney general. “Rest assured, we have a team of prosecutors working hard to ensure that justice is done,” he told reporters.
As the criminal case against Bowers was beginning, people in grief-stricken Pittsburgh began moving toward burying those who were killed. Funerals were scheduled to begin on Tuesday for the victims, including a 97year-old woman, a husband and wife, two brothers and a woman originally from Toronto.
Vigils were also expected to continue as people grappled with still another horror in a seemingly safe public place.
“We find strength in one another,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in an interview. “This gunman went in to try and kill as many Jews as possible . ... We will come through this. And hopefully this feeling of community that we all share today can be channelled into each of us doing our part of rooting out hate.”
The sense of community gave way to still more rancour that stretched to Washington and beyond. More than 30,000 people signed an open letter to U.S. President Donald Trump from leaders of a Pittsburgh-based Jewish group saying he would not be welcome unless he denounced white nationalism and stopped “targeting and endangering all minorities.”
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday that Trump and First Lady Melania Trump planned to visit Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
Trump, who has a lengthy history of incendiary rhetoric toward minorities that has continued since taking office, condemned the shooting as “pure evil” and denounced anti-Semitism. He also suggested that the synagogue should have had armed guards, something he has said after other mass shootings.
Trump has continued lashing out at news organizations since the shooting, describing the media Monday as being responsible for “great anger in our Country,” comments he made the same day a third suspected explosive device was delivered to CNN in less than a week.
While the White House and Trump’s allies have sought to push back against suggestions his rhetoric has contributed to the country’s spasms of violence, a grieving Rabbi Jeffrey Myers directly linked Saturday’s massacre at his Tree of Life synagogue to the rhetoric of U.S. politicians.
“It starts with speech,” Myers said to loud applause at a Sunday evening vigil attended by two U.S. senators. “It has to start with you as our leaders. My words are not intended as political fodder. I address all equally. Stop the words of hate.”