Holden Matthews, 23, the man who set fire to three historically Black churches in Louisiana last year, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was also to pay a fine of more than $2.66 million as restitution to the churches, a Justice Department statement read.
At trial in February, Matthews pleaded guilty to his crimes. He said he purposely set fire to the three predominantly Black Baptist churches in about 10 days, lasting from March through April 2019, because he did not like the religious character of the church buildings and to help boost his profile in the “Black Metal” music community.
However, Matthew was only a copycat who sought to imitate a Black Metal musician from Norway, who, in the 1990s, torched several Norway churches. His mentor, Norwegian black metal artist Varg Virkenes, a former bassist for the band Mayhem, started a campaign of church burning in 1992. Virkenes spent 15 years in prison for his crimes.
As part of his restitution order, Matthew will pay $590,246 to St. Mary Baptist Church, $970,213.30 to Greater Union, and $1.1 million to Mount Pleasant, the Justice Department revealed. He will have three years of supervised release.
Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division said that the churches dated back to the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. He said that for generations, the churches were a place where African Americans gathered to pray and worship. He decried the hatred that fueled Matthew’s actions, saying that these churches that had lasted for more than a century couldn’t survive the onslaught of Matthew’s fire.
Matthew had first set fire to St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre. He followed this by setting fire to Great Union Baptist Church in Opelousas, and then the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, also in Opelousas.
After setting fire to the buildings, Matthew took photographs and videos with his phone and uploaded them on Facebook in a bid to gain notoriety in the Black Metal community. He was arrested on April 11, 2019.
Acting US Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook of the Western District of Louisiana said that the members of the three churches suffered irreparable losses from the actions of Matthew. Asides from the physical buildings lost, they experienced emotional trauma from losing sentimental items that cannot be replaced.
Matthew pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the Church Arson Prevention and guilty to one count of using fire to commit a federal felony.
Source: cnn.com
