The suspect in a series of fires set at African American churches in Louisiana last spring is scheduled for a change-of-plea hearing Monday in federal court.
last spring is scheduled for a change-of-plea hearing Monday in federal court, where he faces hate crime charges.
Holden Matthews had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charges arising from arson fires that destroyed three churches in an around the city of Opelousas. But, court records revealed that there had been plea negotiations going on in the case. Holden Matthews, 21, was booked into the St. Landry Parish Jail on three counts of simple arson of a religious building.Matthews is white and the destruction of the three historic black churches evoked memories of civil rights-era terrorism. But race is not mentioned as a factor in the charges. Matthews was charged with three counts of"intentional damage to religious property," which the Department of Justice said is a hate crime under the U.S. Church Arson Prevention Act.
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