Holden Matthews has been charged with three counts of arson and three hate crimes – one for each of the Black churches that he burned down in Louisiana parish within 10 days. Matthews pleaded not guilty to all charges on Monday for the fires that destroyed St. Mary Baptist Church…
Tag: Arson
White Firefighter Charged With Arson After Blaming BLM for Setting his House on Fire
By Kaitlyn D’Onofrio Jason Stokes, a New York firefighter, was arrested earlier this month for allegedly setting his own home on fire — a crime that was initially blamed on Black Lives Matter. Last week he posted $10,000 bail. On August 10 around 2:30 am, firefighters responded to a fire…
More Hate in St. Louis
A seventh St. Louis church, the Shrine of St. Joseph Catholic Church, was targeted early this morning in yet another case of arson that has devastated the city in an 11-day period. Officials now believe that a string of arsons at six churches in St. Louis, Missouri, are connected. The…
Black Churches Torched in Possible Hate Crimes
Following white supremacist Dylann Roof’s racially motivated murders of nine churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, authorities are now investigating what could possibly be a series of arson-related hate crimes. Six predominately Black churches have recently been damaged or destroyed entirely by fire, and there is reason to believe that at…