3 Black churches rebuilding in Louisiana after 2019 arson

OPELOUSAS, La. (AP) — Three years after an arsonist torched three small Black churches in rural Louisiana, rebuilding is well under way. The Daily World reports that Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas is months from reopening. And there’s visible progress at St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre and Greater Union Baptist Church in Opelousas. A would-be “black metal” musician pleaded guilty in 2020, saying he set fire to the churches in late March and early April 2019 to promote himself in the heavy metal subgenre. Holden Matthews is serving simultaneous 25-year federal and state sentences in federal prison.