‘Evil Act’: Holden Matthews Charged With Arson of 3 Black Louisiana Churches
Louisiana Gov. Bel Edwards on Thursday described the three fires that destroyed predominantly black churches in rural Louisiana as an “evil act” committed by the son of a sheriff’s deputy.
Holden Matthews was arrested Wednesday on three counts of simple arson for fires that on destroyed the churches in St. Landry Parish over ten days. The fires were set on March 26, April 2, and April 4, and destroyed St. Mary Baptist Church, Greater Union Baptist Church, and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, respectively. Matthews, 21, was booked into jail Wednesday evening.
Louisiana State Fire Marshal “Butch” Browning, at a Thursday morning press conference, called the fires “an attack on our God and our religion.”
“In my career, I have never seen such a spiritual mission that has come home so quickly,” said Browning, who noted that Matthews’ arrest was quick in part because “we felt that other crimes were imminent.”
FBI agent Eric J. Rommal, also at the press conference, said the bureau is investigating whether the crimes were “bias-motivated.”
“Right now we are just making sure we gather all the facts,” he said, when pressed on the issue.
A Facebook page that appeared to belong to Matthews showed he was active in pagan and black metal pages, and that he commented on two memes about far-right former neo-Nazi metal musician Varg Vikernes, who served 15 years in prison for killing a fellow metal musician and burning churches in Norway. The comments revealed little other than that they indicated his familiarity with the figure.
The pagan circles Matthews and Vikernes frequented can be popular with neo-Nazis. Matthews frequently posted about pagan beliefs, and recently uploaded a picture of a gun and a knife with the caption “I carry this.....maybe not legally but I only truly follow the law of Odin..... which says as you said,arm yourself...... Odins advice> modern law.” Odin is a pagan Norse god.
One of the pagan pages Matthews was active on specifically forbade racism and “nazi stuff.” Matthews also appeared aware of the religion's white supremacist associations. In one post, a group member noted that a drawing of a pagan figure had a swastika-like design on his belt. “well yea the belt gives him extra strength and power.....white power lmao jk jk I had to,” Matthews wrote.
While Gov. Edwards said he didn’t know what Matthews’s alleged motive was, it cannot be justified or rationalized. It was an evil act.”
“Let’s pray for Mr. Matthews and his family," Edwards added, and the audience responded with a resounding “yes.”
Pastor Gerald Toussaint, of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, said: “We’ve suffered, but I think it has a higher cause.”
“Even though we’ve lost our church—our building, our building—look who’s been brought together,” Toussaint said. “Our country has to find out that the God we serve does not look on the outside. He sees the heart.”
The fires Matthews is apparently suspected of setting occurred at St. Mary Baptist Church, Greater Union Baptist Church, and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church on March 26, April 2, and April 4, respectively. Another “intentionally set” fire was also reported on April 7 at the predominantly white Vivian United Pentecostal Church a few hours away.
“There certainly is a commonality, and whether that leads to a person or persons or groups, we just don’t know,” State Fire Marshal H. Browning said in a news conference last week. The FBI and ATF have also investigated the fires.
Rev. Gerald Toussaint, pastor at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, told the New York Times the only parts left of the church were a brick wall and a corridor.
“I’m trying to find out who did it, why they did it, did it have anything to do with me,” Toussaint said. “I don’t know none of this.”
St. Landry Parish, reportedly a rural area in Louisiana, is 41 percent black and 56 percent white. Toussaint told the newspaper relations between the races were good on the whole.
On Monday, NAACP president Derrick Johnson called the fires evidence of “domestic terrorism” targeting people of color and their religions.
“The spike in church burnings in the Southern states is a reflection of emboldened racial rhetoric and tension spreading across the country," he said in a statement. “But this is nothing new. For decades, African-American churches have served as the epicenter of survival and a symbol of hope for many in the African-American community. As a consequence, these houses of faith have historically been targets of violence.”
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) called the apparent arsons an “affront against God himself and his children.”
“If you participated in this, you have succumbed to evil,” Higgins said, according to the Lafayette Daily Advertiser. “You will be caught. You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
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