Officials Say Evidence Points to Church Fire Suspect
The Associated Press’s Melinda Deslatte reports, “The white man charged in the burnings of three Louisiana black churches faces a mountain of evidence tying him to the crimes, documenting the fires on his cellphone and an interest in arson on Facebook, the state fire marshal said Monday at a hearing that offered new insight into how officials tracked their suspect.” Holden Matthews, the 21-year-old son of a sheriff’s deputy who was arrested on Wednesday, faces both arson and hate crime charges for allegedly using a gas can and oil rags to set fire to the churches.