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By Phil Helsel
A suspect is in custody in connection with fires at three historically black churches in Louisiana, a federal prosecutor confirmed Wednesday night.
The suspect’s name was not released. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana David C. Joseph said in a statement that: “A suspect has been identified in connection with the three church burnings in Opelousas, Louisiana, and is in state custody.”
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The federal prosecutor did not name the churches in the brief statement, but three historically African American churches have burned in St. Landry Parish, where Opelousas is located, since late March.
“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,” Joseph said.
The prosecutor’s statement does not indicate a suspected motive.
ABC station KATC of Lafayette first reported that a suspect was in custody, citing law enforcement sources.
There have been no injuries in the blazes, which were reported at the St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre on March 26; the Greater Union Baptist Church in Opelousas on April 2; and the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas on April 4, officials have said.
Port Barre, where St. Mary Baptist Church was, is around 11 miles east of Opelousas.
The churches were empty at the time of the fires, officials said, and each suffered considerable damage, forcing worshippers to hold Sunday services at other locations.
A fourth fire last weekend at a church with a predominantly white congregation in another parish 200 miles away doesn’t appear to be connected, authorities have said.
A news conference is expected in St. Landry Parish on Thursday morning, in which Gov. John Bel Edwards, the state fire marshal, and other federal and state law enforcement officials are expected to attend, and provide an update “on the fires that burned three historically African-American churches in St. Landry Parish over the span of 10 days,” Edwards’ office said in a statement.
About 200 people, including from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, had been examining the latest cases in Louisiana to help determine whether the fires were intentionally set and may have been motivated by racism or extremism.
After the third fire, State Fire Marshal Butch Browning told reporters that investigators had identified “suspicious elements” in each case and “believe that crimes have occurred.”
The president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Derrick Johnson, said in a statement earlier this week that “the spike in church burnings in Southern states is a reflection of the emboldened racial rhetoric and tension spreading across the country.”