Louisiana man pleads guilty to burning three historically black churches

A Louisiana man on Monday pleaded guilty to intentionally setting fire to a group of historically black churches last spring because of their religious affiliation.

Holden Matthews, 22, the son of a St. Landry Parish sheriff’s deputy, admitted during a federal court hearing that he torched three Baptist churches with predominantly African American congregations because of their “religious character” and as part of an effort to raise his profile as a “black metal” musician, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana said.

He pleaded guilty to three counts under the Church Arson Prevention Act, a federal hate crime, and one count of using fire to commit a federal felony. 

Holden, who is white, was arrested in April 2019 after allegedly burning three historically black Baptist churches near Baton Rouge within 10 days of one another. All of the churches, which were more than 100 years old, were destroyed. The churches were vacant when the blazes were set. 

He was indicted in June and charged with three counts of using fire to commit a felony and three counts of intentional damage to a religious property. He had initially pleaded not guilty following his arrest. 

He said in court Monday that the effort to raise his profile as a “black metal” musician stemmed from learning about similar crimes committed in Norway in the 1990s. He also acknowledged sharing photographs and videos on social media of the churches burning, saying that he hoped it would be a promotional tool within the “black metal” community. 

“The defendant has taken responsibility for the burning and destruction of three of our churches,” U.S. Attorney David Joseph said in a statement. “The freedom to safely congregate and worship in our churches is a fundamental right of all Americans and will be vigorously protected by my office and our law enforcement partners.” 

The string of fires prompted an outpouring of local and national support for the congregations affected by them. A GoFundMe campaign launched last April quickly gained widespread exposure and raised more than $2 million. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was one of the many prominent figures to advocate for donations. 

The Seventh District Baptist Association, which includes the churches impacted by the recent fires, said at the time that it was working with state officials to ensure that funds would be evenly distributed to the churches.

Matthews’s sentencing is scheduled for May 22. The attorney’s office said that he “faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and a statutory maximum sentence of 70 years in prison.”