Pittsburgh, PA — The suspect who killed 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in October of 2018 has been found guilty of hate crimes and other charges.
Roberts Bowers was found guilty on Friday, nearly four years after the attack considered to be the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.
Bowers was said to have entered the synagogue on October 18th, armed with three Glock handguns and a Colt AR-15 rifle, and fatally shot 11 Jewish congregants.
Two others were injured in the attack, while 12 others were able to escape unharmed.
Witnesses reported that Bowers was heard yelling “All Jews must die,” during the attack.
Authorities say Bowers was motivated to carry out the attack after feeding into conspiracy theories that a Jewish charity group that helped to resettle refugees, was assisting with the “migrant caravan” that was on the U.S.-Mexico border at the time.
Bowers’ attorney Elisa Long argued that her client is “nonsensical and irrational” and had the goal of stopping the group’s support of immigrants and refugees, whom he viewed as invaders, according to AP.
During the court proceedings, Prosecutor Mary Hahn reported that Bowers who also had a history of posting White Supremacist content online was “He is filled with hatred for Jews,” and not paranoia.
U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan pointed out that Bowers’ targets were Jewish people at prayer and not the Jewish volunteer group helping immigrants.
“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 was found guilty on 63 charges. 11 of the 63 charges were of Hate Crime Act Resulting in Death.
The Justice Department is expected to seek the death penalty in a separate trial.