Federal prosecutors in the United States have added more charges against the man accused of killing 11 Jews in a Pittsburgh synagogue, according to an indictment finds today, as the city held funerals for three more victims.
Eleven worshipers were gunned down on Saturday morning by a man who stormed into the Tree of Life Synagogue and opened fire, yelling anti-Semitic statements including: "All Jews must die."
The attack, believed to be the deadliest against Jews in the United States in recent history, has fueled a fierce political debate about white nationalism and anti-Semitism ahead of hotly contested US congressional elections next week.
Mourners gathered for the funerals of Melvin Wax, 88, who was leading Sabbath services when the attack began; retired real estate agent Irving Younger, 69; and retired university researcher Joyce Fienberg, 75.
A grand jury has voted to indict Bowers on 44 counts, according to a filing in federal court in Pittsburgh. He had originally faced 29 counts when charged on Monday.
The new charges included 11 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death, and various charges related to his use of a gun in anti-religious violence.
Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.
The synagogue attack has heightened a national debate over Republican US President Donald Trump's rhetoric, which critics say has contributed to a surge in white-nationalist and neo-Nazi activity.
His administration denies he has encouraged far-right extremism and is instead attempting to unify America.
Amid the first funerals for victims on Tuesday, Mr Trump visited Tree of Life.
Thousands protested his presence in the city, accusing him of using rhetoric that has fueled anti-Semitism in America.
Several thousand protesters held an anti-Trump rally about a block away from the synagogue just as his visit began, singing Old Testament psalms and carrying signs with such slogans as: "We build bridges not walls."
Mr Trump made no public comments during his visit, but wrote on Twitter this morning that his office had been "shown great respect on a very sad and solemn day" in Pittsburgh.
"Small protest was not seen by us, staged far away," he tweeted. "The Fake News stories were just the opposite-Disgraceful!"
