Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Bark louder, little dog.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

I was promised a recession.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

After roe, women are no longer free.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

You are here: Home / Politics / America / Breaking: Suspect in Custody For Burning Down Three African American Churches in Louisiana

Breaking: Suspect in Custody For Burning Down Three African American Churches in Louisiana

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Glad they got him, but the description of the suspect in custody does not surprise me in the least.

From The Daily Beast (emphasis mine):

A 21-year-old named Holden Matthews has been arrested in connection with fires that destroyed three Louisiana churches in the span of two weeks, local news outlet KATC reports.

Throughout the end of March and in early April, three churches in rural St. Landry Parish were burned down. Matthews is reportedly the son of a St. Landry Parish Deputy, and he was booked into St. Landry Parish jail at about 5:30 this evening. Holden’s family declined to comment to The Daily Beast.

On a Facebook page that appears to belong to Matthews, he was active in black metal and pagan pages. Although both scenes are predominately apolitical, both have large neo-Nazi fanbases. Matthews commented on two memes about Varg Vikernes, a far-right (and self-described former neo-Nazi) metal musician who served 15 years in prison for burning churches in Norway and killing a fellow metal musician.

Matthews commented on two memes about Vikernes. Neither comment was particularly revealing, but they indicated his familiarity with the fringe figure. The pagan circles Matthews and Vikernes frequented can be popular with neo-Nazis. Matthews frequently posted about pagan beliefs, and recently uploaded a picture of a gun and a knife with the caption “I carry this…..maybe not legally but I only truly follow the law of Odin….. which says as you said,arm yourself…… Odins advice> modern law.” Odin is a pagan Norse god.

One of the pagan pages Matthews was active on specifically forbade racism and “nazi stuff.” Matthews also appeared aware of the religion’s white supremacist associations. In one post, a group member noted that a drawing of a pagan figure had a swastika-like design on his belt. “well yea the belt gives him extra strength and power…..white power lmao jk jk I had to,” Matthews wrote.”

From KATC Channel 3 (video and picture of Matthews at the link):

The Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office, in collaboration with the ATF, FBI, Louisiana State Police, Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office and several other local agencies have been investigating suspicious fires at three churches in St. Landry Parish.

US Attorney David Joseph released the following statement on the burnings.

“A suspect has been identified in connection with the three church burnings in Opelousas, Louisiana, and is in state custody.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, ATF, and FBI are working with state and local law enforcement and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the victims and those St. Landry Parish residents affected by these despicable acts.  A special thanks to St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz, Louisiana State Fire Marshal, H. “Butch” Browning Jr., Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s Cybercrime Unit, the Louisiana State Police, and the Florida State Fire Marshal for working seamlessly with federal law enforcement agents in this investigation.”

The first fire occurred on March 26 at St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre. The second occurred at Greater Union Baptist Church in Opelousas on April 2. The third occurred on April 4 at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas.

I’m sure Candace Owens will be along any time now to explain that these African American churches didn’t burn down and this isn’t domestic terrorism and/or a hate crime and/or the result of white supremacy, because white supremacy is a hoax. She wouldn’t lie to us, would she?

Also, obligatory:

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

26Comments

  3. 3.

    SFAW

    Fake news! False flag! Obummer Hitlary Mueller Pelosi is doing it took take away our accelerants guns!!!

  5. 5.

    Viva BrisVegas

    Since this is an open thread, the Australian PM just called the Federal election for May 18.

    Labor is ahead in the polls (it has been since a month after the last election) around 52-48 against the Liberals (not liberal at all). It was 55-45 late last year, but there has been a narrowing. In our system 55-45 would have been a landslide, 52-48 is merely a severe drubbing.

    Ladbrokes currently have Labor at $1.15 and the Liberals at $5.

    Everybody expects an incredibly dirty campaign from the Libs with Murdoch’s complete backing. Opening salvo, Labor came out in favour of a gradual transition to electric vehicles. Murdoch and the Libs countered with “Oh my God, the Stalinist commies are coming to take away your V8”.

    Australian democracy is on display and so far it hasn’t been edifying.

  11. 11.

    SFAW

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
    Peripherally related vis-a-vis false flags: NPR — I think it was “This American Life” — did something on Alex Jones a few weeks ago, dealing mostly with his history, not his radio/TV/whatever presence. Not that there was any doubt, but he sounded like one sick fuck who wouldn’t know the truth if it kneed him in the nuts. Or maybe he would, and would just choose to ignore the pain, so to speak.

    Thanks, Obama.

  12. 12.

    Duane

    What about having a hearing to expose these hate groups? Surely good people on both sides could help stop… I give up. Fuckers.

  15. 15.

    philp

    When I saw the pagan link, I knew he had to be an Odinist even before I got to that part of the article. We’ve had some of our friends who have kicked Odinists out of their groups because they are just f’ing nuts.

  16. 16.

    Jay

    @opiejeanne:

    There have been massive protests for weeks.

    Earlier this week, protests turned violent when the Presidential Security Forces shot into the protestors in front of the Ministry of Defence.

    Sudanese Army forces rushed out of the Ministry to protect the protestors.

    The Government was always an alliance between the Military and Bashir.

    Looks like they are done with Bashir.

  17. 17.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @Adam L Silverman:

    The first thing Labour needs to do if it wins is seize and close all of Murdoch’s newspapers and TV stations.

    I think that is difficult because of the courts. What would be far easier is to update the tax system so it no longer allows foreign multinationals (i.e. NewsCorp) to avoid paying any tax. Money is the way to hurt Murdoch the most, and as his dead tree media is losing money here it might make him think twice about staying in the local market just to peddle influence.

    Also too, Australian Labor has always been spelt without the “U” as some sort of homage to the US labor movement of the late 19th Century. They were very influential at the time.

  20. 20.

    Brachiator

    @Viva BrisVegas:

    Money is the way to hurt Murdoch the most, and as his dead tree media is losing money here it might make him think twice about staying in the local market just to peddle influence.

    Didn’t Disney buy Fox for $71 billion? I would think that this provides a lot of insulation from higher taxes.

  24. 24.

    Barry

    Why be a Satanists in this day and age? He could turn his cross right-side up, and hold a ‘respectable’ job and worship is a ‘respectable’, ‘Christian’ church, and serve Satan far, far better than any black metal guy ever did.

    Heck, join Sessions’ church.

  26. 26.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    Varg Vikernes is a Nazi shitbag, but ironically, he’s likely to have almost as much contempt for this asshat as we do. He thinks that the American far right is utterly laughable, his rationale being that our whole country is founded on stolen land to which we have no “ancestral connection” or something. I believe he’s actually condemned our country’s historical treatment of American Indians on several occasions. It’s one of his few stopped clock moments. Not that this redeems Vikernes for any of his many crimes, but I just find it hilarious that this copycat arsonist isn’t likely to get the approval he was hoping for. I don’t think he thought his cunning plan through all the way.

    …ETA: also, Vikernes isn’t a Satanist; he actually thinks Satanism is laughable, but then he pretty much hates anyone who isn’t a pagan, so y’know.

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