Federal charges against the man accused of killing 11 people on Saturday could bring the death penalty.
A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted a man who the authorities say killed 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue while spewing anti-Semitic slurs on 44 counts, including hate crimes. He could face the death penalty.
The indictment, handed up by a federal grand jury in western Pennsylvania, charges Robert Bowers, 46, with 11 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious freedom resulting in death, and 11 counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence.
The maximum penalty Mr. Bowers could receive if convicted is death, or life without parole plus 535 additional years of imprisonment.
“Every American has the right to attend their house of worship in safety,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement on Wednesday. “The defendant in this case allegedly murdered 11 innocent people during religious services and injured four law enforcement officers. These alleged crimes are incomprehensibly evil and utterly repugnant to the values of this nation.”
Scott W. Brady, United States attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, said in a statement on Wednesday: “Today begins the process of seeking justice for the victims of these hateful acts, and healing for the victims’ families, the Jewish community and our city.”
In a rampage that has been described as among the deadliest against the Jewish community in the United States, the suspect — armed with a Colt AR-15 rifle and at least three handguns — stormed into the Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday and opened fire indiscriminately, the authorities said. Among the injured were several law enforcement officers.
The assailant fired for several minutes and was leaving the synagogue when law enforcement officers met him at the door. According to the police, Mr. Bowers exchanged gunfire with officers before going back inside and barricading himself in a room. He eventually surrendered.
Wednesday’s indictment came as many were gathering together for funerals and shivas in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, home to many in Pittsburgh’s Jewish community as well as several synagogues, kosher restaurants and bakeries.
Mr. Bowers also faces state charges including 11 counts of criminal homicide and 13 counts of ethnic intimidation.
In a statement on Tuesday, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. suggested that he, too, would call for capital punishment but that the state charges would “remain in abeyance” while the federal case proceeds.
The federal public defender for the Western District of Pennsylvania did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday evening.
Mr. Bowers was a loner living in the Pittsburgh area who spewed murderous hatred and bigotry online.
For months online before the shooting, Mr. Bowers unleashed a torrent of anti-immigrant and anti-Jewish invective and conspiracy theories on Gab, a social media network that has been embraced by white nationalists.
