This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A suspect has been arrested after three churches with majority African American congregations in central Louisiana were destroyed by fire in little more than a week.

At a Thursday news conference, the suspect was identified as Holden Matthews, a 21-year-old white man, and the son of a sheriff’s deputy in the parish. He faces three counts of simple arson of a religious building.

Louisiana: advocates concerned after three black churches burned in a week Read more

“This community is safe again,” said the Louisiana fire marshal, H “Butch” Browning. “We are extremely, unequivocally confident that we have the person who is responsible for these tragic crimes.”

Authorities said they had not yet made a determination as to whether the fires were inspired by racial bias or hate, and that any application of hate crime statutes would be left to FBI and other federal officials.

“Right now we are just making sure we gather all the facts,” said the FBI special agent in charge, Eric Rommal.

Three Baptist churches in rural St Landry Parish, about 100 miles north-west of New Orleans, burned between 26 March and 4 April. Each church was more than 100 years old.

“It’s especially painful because it reminds us of a very dark past of intimidation and fear,” Louisiana’s governor, John Bel Edwards, said. “These were evil acts. Hate has no place in Louisiana.”

A fourth church in Caddo Parish, about three hours north-west, also burned over the same span, but authorities said Thursday that they believe that fire was unrelated.

According to his arrest warrant, Matthews used his debit card and ID to purchase a gas can, a 10-pack of automotive shop towels and a lighter on or around 25 March. Investigators found the remains of the same brand of gas can at the scene of the 4 April fire at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church.

The warrant also stated that a truck similar to Matthews’ gold Ford pickup was visible in video footage taken at two of the churches shortly before the fires.

While authorities declined to speak definitively about Matthews’ possible motives, Matthews did note that investigators were exploring his “relationship with a type of music called ‘black metal’ and its association in history with church burning in other parts of the world”.

Pastor Gerald Toussaint of Mount Pleasant Baptist church praised the law enforcement community for bringing a swift resolution to the crisis. “Even though we’ve lost our church – our building – look who’s been brought together,” he said.

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In the days leading up to the arrest, pastors and parishioners at the churches voiced their concern.

“It’s like the 60s again,” said Earnest Hines, a deacon at Mount Pleasant Baptist church – the site of the last fire.

Yet Hines, and others connected to the churches, were careful not to automatically label the fires as racist acts.

“I don’t know why this happened, and we don’t need to jump to conclusions,” said Hines, a member of the church for more than 40 years. “We need to let them investigate, let the evidence come out.”

The first fire torched the St Mary Baptist church in Port Barre last month. Days later, the Greater Union Baptist church and Mount Pleasant Baptist church in Opelousas were burned.

The churches were empty at the time of the fires, and no one was injured.