The U.S. Justice Department will seek the death penalty for Robert Bowers, the suspect in the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh last year. The Justice Department filed for the death penalty on Monday. Bowers is accused of killing 11 people in the shooting attack. Bowers was armed with an AR-15 and three handguns during the attack.
Bowers was indicted on 44 counts at the end of October and later pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in a federal courtroom. A federal grand jury added 19 charges to the 44 counts previously levied against Bowers in January. 13 of the new counts are hate crime violations and the others accuse him of obstructing religious beliefs and discharging a firearm during crimes of violence. Bowers pleaded not guilty to the new hate crimes charges as well.
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