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st. landry parish

News, Race Matters

Louisiana Man Who Burned Down 3 Black Churches in 2019 Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

23-year-old Holden Matthews—the black metal-loving son of a St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, sheriff’s deputy who wasn’t officially named a white supremacist despite having pleaded guilty to burning down three Black churches in 2019—was sentenced Monday to 25 years in federal prison for his crimes, according to the Department of Justice. CNN reports that along with…

By

Zack Linly

Published

November 3, 2020
News

Louisiana Man Accused of Burning 3 Black Churches Faces Hate Crime Charges

Louisiana prosecutors have charged Holden Matthews with three hate crimes, one for each of the black churches he’s accused of burning down in St. Landry Parish. The hate crime charges were added to several counts of arson involving a religious building, BuzzFeed News reports. Matthews, the son of a local sheriff’s deputy, pleaded not guilty…

By

Anne Branigin

Published

April 16, 2019
News

Suspect Charged in String of Black Church Fires in Louisiana Identified as Son of Local Deputy Sheriff

Police identified a suspect in the burnings of three black churches in a South Louisiana parish last month as 21-year-old Holden Matthews, the son of a local deputy sheriff. He’s been charged with three counts of arson. According to multiple outlets, Matthews is currently in police custody. Federal prosecutors confirmed the arrest Wednesday night. Over…

By

Anne Branigin

Published

April 11, 2019
La. Teachers Accused of Bullying and Starting Elementary School Fight Club

Anne Shelvin, 44, and Tracy Gallow, 50, two teachers at Washington Elementary School, in Opelousas, La., were arrested last week after starting what school officials are referring to as a “fight club.” St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said that a student’s mother complained that Shelvin bullied her 11-year-old child, told the student to “go…

By

Yesha Callahan

Published

May 1, 2017