LOUISIANA: Hate Crime Charges In Church Fires

The Associated Press reports:

The white man suspected in the burnings of three African American churches in Louisiana will remain in jail, denied bond Monday by a judge, as state prosecutors added new charges declaring the arsons a hate crime.

Twenty-one-year-old Holden Matthews, the son of a sheriff’s deputy, entered his not guilty plea via video conference from the St. Landry Parish jail. The judge set a September trial date.

In denying bail, state District Judge James Doherty sided with law enforcement officials who said they worried Matthews would try to flee the area or set more fires.

Federal hate crime charges are also possible.