Temple suspect pleads not guilty

The accused gunman in the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh that left 11 dead and seven wounded in October pleaded not guilty to 19 additional criminal counts Monday morning, including federal hate crime charges.

A grand jury added the counts on Jan. 29 to the 44 charges Robert Bowers, 46, faced following the Oct. 27 shooting during Saturday morning Sabbath services. The new charges include more hate crime violations, the obstruction of religious belief and the use of a firearm during crimes of violence.

Bowers, a former truck driver of Baldwin, Pennsylvania, also appeared with his new attorney Monday, litigator Judy Clarke. Clarke told the judge she does not want the case to go to trial, signaling that Bowers may eventually be open to a plea deal from prosecutors.

Bowers allegedly entered the synagogue last year screaming anti-semitic epithets, such as “All Jews must die.” He also posted on Gab, a social media site linked to white nationalism and the far right, that “I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics. I’m going in.”

A spokeswoman for federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh said prosecutors have yet to decide whether to pursue the death penalty.