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A man accused of setting fire to three predominantly black churches in a parish in southern Louisiana was charged with hate crimes on Monday, reported the Associated Press, adding to the three chiefs of police. Charges of fire that were filed last week.
The man, Holden Matthews, the son of a 21-year-old deputy sheriff, was arrested on Wednesday accused of setting fire to churches within 10 days of St. Landry. north of Lafayette. He pleaded not guilty Monday and did not get bail.
The three fires destroyed churches that had existed for more than a century and had been the spiritual home of generations of black families, evoking the long history of racist crimes in the southern Jim Crow.
At a news conference last week, the authorities announced the arrest of Mr. Matthews and the initial charges for three counts of simple arson in a religious building. Governor Louis Bel Edwards of Louisiana said at the time that even though he did not know the motivation behind the fires, "it was all perverse".
The authorities have also suggested a possible link with black metal, a genre of music that has been linked to church fires in the past. Mr. Matthews was a member of a black metal band called Vodka Vultures.
Prosecutors have again filed three more indictments, Mr Matthews, declaring Monday that hate – motivated arson is a crime, reported the Associated Press.
The Parish of St. Landry is a rural area in the heart of the Cajun and Creole countries. It is 56% white and 41% black. Fires, who destroyed the three churches, took place on March 26, April 2 and 4. The first took place at St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre; the other two were at the Greater Union Baptist Church and at the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, in the small town of Opelousas, the parish's headquarters.
At a court hearing on Monday, Butch Browning, the fire marshal, cited extensive evidence linking Matthews to the flames, including cell phone recordings of his location and photographs taken on his phone. captured fires at an early stage, The Associated. Press reported. The fires were lit with gasoline and the churches were empty when they were set on fire.
A fourth fire, a small fire that was "intentionally unleashed," was reported on March 31 in a predominantly white church in Caddo Parish, about three hours north. It was difficult to know if this fire was connected to others.
The F.B.I. and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives participated in the investigation, as well as the Louisiana and Florida Fire Fighters, the Cybercrime Unit of the Attorney's Office. General of Louisiana and the National and Local Police.
Mr. Matthews' lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment and the General Counsel of St. Landry Parish could not be contacted Monday night.
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