Halle synagogue shooter denies the Holocaust in closing statement of his trial

(JTA) — The perpetrator of a terrorist attack on a synagogue in Halle, Germany denied the Holocaust during his closing statement in court.

Stephan Balliet, a far-right extremist, has confessed to killing two people outside the synagogue last year on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Earlier in the day, he had tried and failed to break through the synagogue’s front door. Balliet said he carried out the attack because he believed “Jews were ruining Germany.”