The gunman who opened fire at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 was found guilty on dozens of federal charges in connection with killing 11 worshippers, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history, a jury ruled Friday.
The verdict in Robert Bowers’ trial was announced after five hours of deliberation. The reading is ongoing.
Bowers had pleaded not guilty to 63 federal criminal counts, including hate crimes and obstructing the exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death. Some of the charges are punishable by death.
Seven others were injured when Bowers stormed the Tree of Life synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood on Oct. 27, 2018, armed with an assault rifle and three guns.
Lawyers for Bowers admitted that he was responsible for the deadly attack, but had tried to spare his life as federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Prosecutors had rejected Bowers’ offer to plead guilty in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table.
The prosecution rested its case Wednesday, and attorneys for Bowers did not put on a defense.
The three-week trial saw survivors, victims’ family members and police officers give at times emotional testimonies.
Over the course of the trial, prosecutors showed how Bowers voiced a hostility toward Jewish people on social media.
On the platform Gab, which is popular with the far right, his profile said that “Jews are the children of Satan.” He posted other offensive content and spoke approvingly of Hitler and the Nazi genocide of Jews.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
