Tree of Life Congregation and Synagogue Story Archives

White Supremacist Admits Threatening Jury And Witnesses In Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooter’s Trial

A self-proclaimed white supremacist has pleaded guilty to charges that he made online threats toward the jury and witnesses at the trial of a man who killed 11 congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

A self-proclaimed white supremacist pleaded guilty Tuesday to making online threats toward the jury and witnesses at the trial of a man who killed 11 congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue, the U.S. Justice Department said.

As part of his plea agreement in federal court for West Virginia’s northern district, Hardy Carroll Lloyd admitted that the actual or perceived Jewish faith of the government witnesses and victims in the trial of Robert Bowers prompted him to target the jury and witnesses.

Lloyd, 45, of Follansbee, West Virginia, faces more than six years in prison if the plea agreement is accepted by the court.

The Justice Department described Lloyd as a self-proclaimed leader of a white supremacy movement. Prosecutors said Lloyd, who was arrested on Aug. 10, sent threatening social media posts and emails along with comments on websites during Bowers’ trial. Lloyd pleaded guilty to obstruction of the due administration of justice.

Bowers was sentenced to death last month after a jury determined that capital punishment was appropriate.

“Hardy Lloyd attempted to obstruct the federal hate crimes trial of the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “His guilty plea underscores that anyone who attempts to obstruct a federal trial by threatening or intimidating jurors or witnesses will be met with the full force of the Justice Department.”

In May 2022, the Texas Department of Public Safety offered a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to Lloyd’s arrest after he allegedly posted a series of comments online threatening to carry a firearm onto the Texas Capitol grounds and challenge any police officer who tried to “take enforcement actions” against him. A statement from the department said Lloyd was a convicted felon.

W.Va. Rabbi: Acts of Kindness Can Help America 'Weaponize Goodness'

The shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue last weekend sent shockwaves across the country and in West Virginia. Victor Urecki, the rabbi at B’Nai Jacob Synagogue in Charleston, shared his thoughts on moving ahead in the wake of the tragedy.

“Particularly for the Jewish people, this has been a very difficult week. We feel broken. We feel no longer safe,” he said. “Maybe we were lulled into a sense of American security that America is finally gonna be the different place. I think for America, it doesn’t feel like this is us. This is not who we are, as Americans.”

“I’m not sure how we get out of this, except I’ve been thinking a lot about what maybe has brought us to this place. Evil and goodness are part of our human experience. There are evil acts, there are good acts. There are evil people, there are good people. And a lot of times we have both within us. What has maybe generated this feeling that this is changing is evil words and thoughts have been weaponized. Evil acts that have pretty much been kept in the dark corners of America are now much more open because, again, words have been weaponized.”

“What gives me hope is I think what we can do is learn to weaponize goodness. And what I’ve noticed throughout the pain and the suffering that the Jewish communities have gone through in America is the outpouring of love, incredible acts, not just of people picking up the phone or emailing or private messaging, but simple acts of kindness that we’re experiencing here in West Virginia.”

Urecki described one act of kindness last Sunday, during a memorial service at the synagogue. A family left a bouquet of yellow flowers on the front steps. During the evening, more flowers appeared outside the synagogue.

He also spoke about an anonymous message someone wrote in chalk outside the synagogue in Huntington that read, “You are loved.”

That, he said is “the simple act of goodness that needs to be weaponized.”

WVU, Morgantown Communities Show Support, Fight Hate in Wake of Pittsburgh Tree of Life Shooting

Hundreds of people gathered at a vigil held at West Virginia University to honor the victims of the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, and offer a message of both vigilance and healing to the Jewish community, both in Morgantown and around the world.

WVU students and staff, and Morgantown community members braved chilly temperatures and the threat of rain to stand shoulder to shoulder Monday, Oct. 29, in front of Woodburn Hall, on WVU’s downtown campus.

The “Stronger Than Hate” vigil was put together by Jewish student leaders at WVU.

“You hear about all these shootings and they’re across the country,” said Zack Levenson, a senior political science major at WVU, president of the Rohr Chabad Jewish Student Center on campus and vice president of Jewish fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi. “And then it’s your community and it’s an hour away. I’ve driven by that synagogue and it’s the least I could do, the least we could do as organizers, to support Jewish students on campus and the Squirrel Hill community.”

Levenson said the student community wanted to create a space to mourn the 11 people gunned down Saturday at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, but also to share the message that hate will not win.

Participants, some bearing homemade signs naming the victims, some that simply read “Love,” lit flickering candles in honor of those killed and injured.

Attendees of a vigil at WVU hold candles to honor those who were killed at a shooting Saturday, October 27, 2018 at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Some of the speakers held personal connections with many of the Tree of Life synagogue victims. Pamela Murray, vice-chair of the department of pediatrics/adolescent medicine at WVU, knew many of those killed.

“People can be incredibly special and generous,” Murray said of those who were killed. “But hate is awful and hate speech can be evil. In this case, guns were the agent of this hatred that destroyed lives and has had an impact on a very large community.”

She and others noted that the Jewish community has long faced persecution, but data collected by the Anti-Defamation League finds anti-Semitic incidents are becoming more common. The nonprofit said incidents spiked nearly 60 percent in 2017, compared to 2016 numbers, the largest single-year increase on record and the second highest number reported since ADL started tracking incident data in the 1970s.

For some, Saturday’s violence hit very close to home. Judy and Bob Danenberg are members of the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. They were out of town when the shooting occurred, but told the crowd they knew many of those who were killed.

Bob and Judy Danenberg, members of the Tree of Life congregation in Pittsburgh, address hundreds of people gathered a vigil in front of Woodburn Hall at WVU’s downtown campus on Monday, October 29, 2018.

“We as the Jewish community are mourning in Squirrel Hill right now,” she said, fighting tears. “Having you here tonight shows solidarity. It has been the reaching out of all kinds of people, Jewish, non-Jewish, Muslim, all over the world that has been reaching out to us. It is the strength that we all need together.”

Danenberg added that in the face of hate, it is more important than ever to hug those you love.

“Spread good, spread love, spread joy — not the message of hate,” she said.