Arrest Made of Arsonist Who Burned Down Black Churches in Louisiana!

Holden Matthews

 

Dear Commons Community,

Louisiana authorities announced the arrest of Holden Matthews for arson in connection with the burning of three black churches.  As reported in the New York Times:

“While the victims prayed for the soul of the arsonist who burned down their houses of worship, investigators rushed to assemble clues, worried the assailant would strike again.

The detectives had noticed the same pickup truck in surveillance video footage near each of the three predominantly black churches that had been set ablaze and destroyed. They found the charred remains of a particular brand of gas can sold at a local Walmart.

Then the pieces came together, and the authorities announced the arrest of a 21-year-old white man who is the son of a local sheriff’s deputy and an aficionado of a subgenre of heavy metal, called black metal, whose most extreme practitioners in Norway have engaged in church burning, vandalism and killing.

In a Thursday morning news conference announcing the arrest of the man, Holden Matthews, the authorities said that they had not concluded their investigation and could not say whether racism had played a role.

Though the motive was less than clear, the results brought a measure of peace for a rural Cajun community that had been on edge since late March, when the first of the fires occurred.”

Congratulations to the authorities for taking quick action on these crimes.  And may the communities where the burnings took place find comfort in knowing that they can worship without fear.

Tony

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