The Department of Justice announced that 23-year-old Holden Matthews has been sentenced to 300 months, or 25 years, in prison after admitting to burning down three Black churches in Louisiana last year.
Matthews will also have three years of supervised release and has been ordered to pay restitution of $590,246 to St. Mary Baptist Church, $970,213.30 to Greater Union, and $1,100,000 to Mt. Pleasant, according to the Justice Department statement.
“These churches trace their origins to the post-Civil War Reconstruction period and, for generations, were a place for predominantly African American Christians to gather, pray, worship, and celebrate their faith,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division.
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“The churches survived for nearly 150 years but did not survive this defendant’s warped act of hatred. I extend my sympathy to the victims of this defendant’s arson spree, the congregants of Saint Mary Baptist Church, Greater Union Baptist Church, and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church,” he added.
The high-profile case caused outrage in 2019 when Matthews burned down all three churches over a 10-day span. As Blavity previously reported, Matthews is also the son of Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy Roy Matthews.
According to WBNS, it was his father who turned him in. He later said he was inspired by Varg Vikernes, the former neo-Nazi metal musician was sentenced to 15 years in prison for setting fires at three Norway churches, as Blavity previously reported.
Matthews pleaded guilty in February and admitted to burning down St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre, Louisiana on March 26, 2019, Greater Union Baptist Church in Opelousas, Louisiana on April 2 and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas on April 4.
Source: Man Who Burned Down 3 Black Louisiana Churches Sentenced to 25 Years In Prison
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