Adas Israel Congregation ablaze, Sept. 9, 2019. Image by KBJR/YouTube

(JTA) — The homeless man charged with setting fire to a historic synagogue in northern Minnesota was sheltering in an alcove between the building and its sukkah.

Matthew James Amiot, 36, used a lighter to set fire to what the criminal complaint said was “a variety of combustible materials” early on the morning of September 9 outside of the Adas Israel Synagogue in Duluth, Minnesota. Two minutes later he is seen on surveillance video walking away from the building.

Police say Amiot admitted to starting the fire and said he then tried to spit on it to put it out, but walked away when he was unsuccessful, the Star-Tribune reported citing the complaint.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Amiot, who was arrested Friday and jailed on suspicion of first-degree arson, was officially charged during a hearing St. Louis County District Court on Monday with one felony count of negligent fires and a gross misdemeanor count of negligent fires resulting in a human being injured.

A firefighter identified as Ben Gasner was hit by falling debris and knocked unconscious during efforts to put out the blaze.

He faces a maximum of three years in prison for the felony charge and a year in jail for the misdemeanor charge.

Judge Eric Hylden set bail at $20,000.

Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken said during a news conference on Sunday that Amiot has previous convictions for misdemeanor shoplifting and trespassing. Tusken also said that there is no evidence that the arson was a bias or hate crime, but added that “This may change as this investigation progresses.”

The nearly 120-year-old synagogue was deemed a total loss, with damage to property estimated to be at least $117,000 for the structure and at least $250,000 for religious items, according to the newspaper.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount