Trump to visit Pittsburgh and survivors of shooting

President Donald Trump will travel to Pittsburgh on Tuesday to visit the grieving community of Squirrel Hill, where 11 people were gunned down Saturday at Tree of Life Congregation synagogue in the deadliest U.S. attack on Jews. Some residents of the Jewish neighborhood signed an open letter asking the president not to come as his critics claimed he had not done enough to condemn white nationalism. “The president of the United States is always welcome,” Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who was conducting Sabbath services at the synagogue when the shooter opened fire, told CNN. “I am a citizen. He is my president. He is certainly welcome.” Trump plans to visit the wounded in the hospital and meet with first responders and community leaders. He will be joined by first lady Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka Trump, and son-in-law Jared Kushner. The first funerals were held Tuesday for the victims, who range in age from 54 to 97.

The suspect, Robert Gregory Bowers, 46, appeared in court Monday and faces 29 federal charges, including hate crimes. The judge ordered him held without bail for a preliminary hearing on Thursday, when prosecutors will outline their case. Bowers did not enter a plea.

Authorities believe Bowers posted a social media rant against a Jewish refugee settlement agency, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, minutes before the attack. “HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people,” he allegedly wrote on the platform Gab early Saturday. “I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. … I’m going in.” HIAS was founded in 1881 to assist Jews persecuted in Russia and Eastern Europe and more recently has sponsored thousands of Christian and other non-Muslim refugees settling in the United States.