Truck driver guilty of killing 11 at Pittsburgh synagogue in deadliest attack on Jews in US history

WE CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THE BREAKING NEWS THIS AFTERNOON. ROBERT BOWERS FOUND GUILTY ON ALL 63 FEDERAL CHARGES HE WAS FACING CONNECTED TO THE TREE OF LIFE SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING IN 2018. THAT MEANS THE CASE WILL ENTER THE SENTENCING PHASE. AS FOR THE DEATH PENALTY IN THIS SECOND DAY OF DELIBERATIONS, THE JURY REACHED ITS VERDICT FINDING ROBERT BOWERS GUILTY AGAIN ON EVERY COUNT IN THIS CASE, 63 OF THEM. BOWERS IS NOW GUILTY OF SHOOTING AND KILLING 11 WORSHIPERS FROM THREE CONGREGATIONS AT THE TREE OF LIFE SYNAGOGUE IN SQUIRREL HILL. BACK IN OCTOBER OF 2018. THE JURY ALSO FOUND BOWERS GUILTY OF WOUNDING SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE THAT DAY, INCLUDING DAN LEDGER, SEEN HERE AND ENTERING THE FEDERAL COURTHOUSE THIS MORNING. WE’RE GOING TO GO LIVE TO PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR. REPORTER PAUL VAN OSDOL WHO’S BEEN INSIDE OF THE COURTHOUSE FOR MUCH OF THIS TRIAL. PAUL. ELENA, AS YOU SAY, IT’S A CONVICTED ON ALL COUNTS. AND MOST SIGNIFICANTLY ON THE DEATH PENALTY COUNTS. YOU KNOW, THERE WAS VERY LITTLE DOUBT THAT BOWERS WAS GOING TO BE FOUND GUILTY, BUT IT WAS SIGNIFICANT TONIGHT THAT THOSE COUNTS THAT CARRY THE POTENTIAL OF THE DEATH PENALTY, THAT THOSE BE RETURNED WITH GUILTY COUNTS AS WELL. AND SO WE’RE JUST JUST TO PUT THIS IN CONTEXT, THIS IS ONLY ONE PART OF THIS TRIAL. WE ARE NOW GOING TO BE MOVING ON TO WHAT’S CALLED THE PENALTY PHASE OF THE TRIAL. AND THAT IS LIKELY TO BE A MUCH MORE CONTENTIOUS CASE. PART OF THIS WHOLE PROCESS. THE DEFENSE PUT UP VERY LITTLE DEFENSE OF BOWERS IN THIS GUILT PHASE. BUT CLEARLY THEY’RE SAVING THEMSELVES FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF THE TRIAL. AND THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS WHOLE PROCEEDING WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER HE WOULD QUALIFY FOR THE DEATH PENALTY. NOW THE JURY HAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER HE WILL GET THE THE DEATH PENALTY. AND THAT IS GOING TO PROBABLY ENTAIL A MUCH MORE VIGOROUS DEFENSE FROM THE BOWERS TEAM THAN WE SAW IN THIS INITIAL PHASE. AND WE’RE HEARING FROM BOB MAYO IN THE COURTROOM THAT THIS NEXT PHASE OF THIS OF THIS TRIAL IS GOING TO BE STARTING UP VERY SOON, PERHAPS IN JUST THE NEXT FEW DAYS. AND IT’S UNCLEAR HOW LONG THAT THEY’RE GOING TO HAVE TO PRESENT A DEFENSE. BUT AGAIN, IT’S GOING TO BE THE WHOLE REASON THAT BOWERS DID NOT TAKE A PLEA IN THIS CASE WAS BECAUSE HIS TEAM WANTED TO FIGHT OR BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT WANTED TO TRY TO FIGHT TO TO MAKE TO CONVICT HIM, TO SEND HIM TO BE ABLE TO SENTENCE HIM, TO DEATH. SO WE’LL BE COMING. WE WILL SE

A truck driver who expressed a hatred of Jews was convicted Friday of barging into a Pittsburgh synagogue and shooting everyone he could find, killing 11 congregants in an act of antisemitic terror for which he could be sentenced to die.The guilty verdict was a foregone conclusion after Robert Bowers' own lawyers conceded at the trial’s outset that he attacked and killed worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, in the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history. Jurors must now decide whether the 50-year-old should be sent to death row or sentenced to life in prison without parole as the federal trial shifts to a penalty phase expected to last several weeks.Bowers was tried on 63 criminal counts, including hate crimes resulting in death and obstruction of the free exercise of religion resulting in death. His attorneys had offered a guilty plea in return for a life sentence, but prosecutors refused, opting instead to take the case to trial and pursue the death penalty.Most of the victims' families expressed support for the decision.Bowers turned a sacred house of worship into a "hunting ground," targeting his victims because of their religion, a prosecutor told jurors on Thursday. Reading the names of each of the 11 victims he killed, prosecutor Mary Hahn asked the jury to “hold this defendant accountable ... and hold him accountable for those who cannot testify.”Bowers, who was armed with an AR-15 rifle and other weapons, also shot and wounded seven, including five responding police officers.Video above: Why is antisemitism on the rise?Prosecutors presented evidence of his deep-seated animosity toward Jews and immigrants. Over 11 days of testimony, jurors learned that Bowers had extensively posted, shared or liked antisemitic and white supremacist content on Gab, a social media platform popular with the far right, and praised Hitler and the Holocaust. Bowers told police that “all these Jews need to die,” Hahn said.Survivors testified about the terror they felt that day, including a woman who recounted how she was shot in the arm and then realized her 97-year-old mother had been shot and killed right next to her. Andrea Wedner, the trial’s last witness, told jurors she touched her mother’s lifeless body and cried out, "Mommy," before SWAT officers led her to safety.With Bowers' guilt established, survivors and family members of the deceased victims are expected to tell the jury about the devastating impact of his crimes. The penalty phase is scheduled to start next week. Bowers' attorneys did not mount a defense at the guilt stage of the trial, signaling they will focus their efforts on trying to save his life. They plan to introduce evidence that Bowers has schizophrenia, epilepsy and brain impairments. Defense lawyer Judy Clarke has also sought to raise questions about Bowers' motive, suggesting to jurors that his rampage was not motivated by religious hatred but his delusional belief that Jews were committing genocide by helping refugees settle in the United States. The three congregations that shared the synagogue building – Dor Hadash, New Light and Tree of Life – have spoken out against antisemitism and other forms of bigotry since the attack. The Tree of Life congregation also is working on a plan to overhaul the synagogue building – which still stands but has been closed since the shootings – by creating a complex that would house a sanctuary, museum, memorial and center for fighting antisemitism.The trial took place three years after President Joe Biden said during his 2020 campaign that he would work to end capital punishment at the federal level and in states that still use it. His attorney general, Merrick Garland, has temporarily paused executions to review policies and procedures. But federal prosecutors continue to vigorously work to uphold already-issued death sentences and, in some cases, to pursue the death penalty at trial for crimes that are eligible, as in Bowers’ case.___Associated Press reporter Michael Rubinkam in northeastern Pennsylvania contributed to this report.Sister station WTAE reporter Bob Mayo is tweeting from the federal courthouse. Follow his coverage below. WARNING: Some of the testimony may be graphic

PITTSBURGH —

The guilty verdict was a foregone conclusion after Robert Bowers' own lawyers conceded at the trial’s outset that he attacked and killed worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, in the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history. Jurors must now decide whether the 50-year-old should be sent to death row or sentenced to life in prison without parole as the federal trial shifts to a penalty phase expected to last several weeks.

Bowers was tried on 63 criminal counts, including hate crimes resulting in death and obstruction of the free exercise of religion resulting in death. His attorneys had offered a guilty plea in return for a life sentence, but prosecutors refused, opting instead to take the case to trial and pursue the death penalty.

Most of the victims' families expressed support for the decision.

Bowers turned a sacred house of worship into a "hunting ground," targeting his victims because of their religion, a prosecutor told jurors on Thursday. Reading the names of each of the 11 victims he killed, prosecutor Mary Hahn asked the jury to “hold this defendant accountable ... and hold him accountable for those who cannot testify.”

Bowers, who was armed with an AR-15 rifle and other weapons, also shot and wounded seven, including five responding police officers.

Video above: Why is antisemitism on the rise?

Prosecutors presented evidence of his deep-seated animosity toward Jews and immigrants. Over 11 days of testimony, jurors learned that Bowers had extensively posted, shared or liked antisemitic and white supremacist content on Gab, a social media platform popular with the far right, and praised Hitler and the Holocaust. Bowers told police that “all these Jews need to die,” Hahn said.

Survivors testified about the terror they felt that day, including a woman who recounted how she was shot in the arm and then realized her 97-year-old mother had been shot and killed right next to her. Andrea Wedner, the trial’s last witness, told jurors she touched her mother’s lifeless body and cried out, "Mommy," before SWAT officers led her to safety.

With Bowers' guilt established, survivors and family members of the deceased victims are expected to tell the jury about the devastating impact of his crimes. The penalty phase is scheduled to start next week.

Bowers' attorneys did not mount a defense at the guilt stage of the trial, signaling they will focus their efforts on trying to save his life. They plan to introduce evidence that Bowers has schizophrenia, epilepsy and brain impairments. Defense lawyer Judy Clarke has also sought to raise questions about Bowers' motive, suggesting to jurors that his rampage was not motivated by religious hatred but his delusional belief that Jews were committing genocide by helping refugees settle in the United States.

The three congregations that shared the synagogue building – Dor Hadash, New Light and Tree of Life – have spoken out against antisemitism and other forms of bigotry since the attack. The Tree of Life congregation also is working on a plan to overhaul the synagogue building – which still stands but has been closed since the shootings – by creating a complex that would house a sanctuary, museum, memorial and center for fighting antisemitism.

The trial took place three years after President Joe Biden said during his 2020 campaign that he would work to end capital punishment at the federal level and in states that still use it. His attorney general, Merrick Garland, has temporarily paused executions to review policies and procedures.

But federal prosecutors continue to vigorously work to uphold already-issued death sentences and, in some cases, to pursue the death penalty at trial for crimes that are eligible, as in Bowers’ case.

___

Associated Press reporter Michael Rubinkam in northeastern Pennsylvania contributed to this report.

Sister station WTAE reporter Bob Mayo is tweeting from the federal courthouse. Follow his coverage below. WARNING: Some of the testimony may be graphic

Tweets by BMayo_WTAE

Truck driver guilty of killing 11 at Pittsburgh synagogue in deadliest attack on Jews in US history

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