Louisiana native Holden Matthews has been sentenced to 25 years for setting fire to three Black churches.
What We Know:
- The 23-year-old pled guilty back in February to burning three baptist churches in spring 2019. According to NBC News Matthews said to have done it to boost his recognition within the “black metal” community. Matthews committed crimes similar to Norwegian musician Varg Vikernes. During the 1900s Vikernes started a campaign of burning churches, as a way to reinforce his ideals of taking revenge on Christians and bringing Norway back to its original religious roots.
- CNN defined black metal as a sub-genre of heavy metal music that takes on themes surrounding anti-religious beliefs and incorporates fast tempos, shirking vocals, distorted guitars, and an uncommon song structure.
- According to the Department of Justice, Matthews admitted to burning the churches between March and April. The three churches were located in the Opelousas, Louisiana area and were originated during the post-Civil War Reconstruction period.
- Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Justice Department’s civil rights division said in a statement:
“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…”
Matthews was sentenced on Monday, November 2, 2020, to 300 months in prison and will receive three years of supervised release. Matthews is also responsible for paying more than $2.6 million in restorations to the three churches.
