Brothers Plead Not Guilty to Setting Fire to 3 Synagogues
Two brothers accused of murdering a gay couple were arraigned Tuesday on charges of torching three Sacramento-area synagogues and a building housing an abortion clinic.
Benjamin Matthew Williams, 31, and James Tyler Williams, 30, pleaded not guilty to last summer’s attacks, which caused more than $1 million in damage.
The Williams brothers, landscapers from nearby Redding, face first-degree murder charges in connection with the deaths of Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder, who were shot to death on July 1, 1999, in bed at their home outside Redding.
The brothers have pleaded not guilty in that case and face possible death sentences if convicted.
In the arson attacks, government prosecutors have said, the two aimed “to intimidate, terrorize and harm Jews, providers of reproductive health services and other groups of persons whom the defendants regarded as inferior or undesirable.”
Three temples--Congregation Beth Shalom, Congregation B’nai Israel and Kenesset Israel Torah Center--were hit by fire June 18.
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