Last spring, over the course of 10 days, three black churches in Louisiana were burned down. It was a heinous act that evoked memories of a much darker time in our country’s history.
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NBC News reports that Holden Matthews, the man responsible, has now pleaded guilty. Matthews faces three counts of intentional damage to religious property. Those alone constitute a federal hate crime and carry a sentence of up to 2o years per count. He also pleaded guilty on one count of using fire to commit a felony, a crime that could potentially net him a 10-year sentence. Additionally, Matthews is facing state charges that include two counts of simple arson of a religious building and one count of aggravated arson of a religious building.
Investigators have said that race wasn’t a primary factor in what Matthews did. He has an interest in “black metal,” a niche subgenre of heavy metal that tends to hold anti-christian views. The U.S Attorney issued a statement that said: “Matthews admitted to setting the fires because of the religious character of these buildings, in an effort to raise his profile as a Black Metal’ musician by copying similar crimes committed in Norway in the 1990s.”
Which, okay? My main question is, why did he burn three black churches if race wasn’t factor? I admit I haven’t been to Louisiana but I don’t think it’s unfair to assume that there are also plenty of white churches in the state. Burning churches, on the whole, is just a fucked up thing to do. Yet it feels particularly targeted that this was only three black churches. It wasn’t like this took place over one night, this was a week-long endeavor. Upon doing some research, there’s a sub-genre within the sub-genre of neo-Nazi black metal. So, it’s not a stretch to say race may have played some role in the burning of three black churches. One is horrific enough but three? That’s a pattern.
A hate crime is a hate crime, whether it’s targeting a group based on their religion, race or sexuality. Yet, I feel like it’s a cop-out saying “he liked metal, it was about religion not race.” This is one of those rare instances where justice is being served, yet the point feels completely missed.
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