Vice President Mike Pence says he’s inspired by the faith that continues to be shown in St. Landry Parish where three historically black churches were burned down by a suspected arsonist. Pence made his comments Friday afternoon in the front of the ruins of the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas.
“Your resilience, your faith, and your courage in the wake of this unspeakable evil has inspired the nation and I had to come here to express that to you.”
The son of a sheriff’s deputy, 21-year-old Holden Matthews, has been charged with setting fire to the churches. An extensive investigation led by the State Fire Marshal’s office led to Matthews’ capture and Pence applauded the hard work of the investigators.
“We commend the law enforcement community at the state and local level for the outstanding work that they did working in this community to bring that person to justice.”
Over two-million dollars was raised on GoFundMe to pay for the rebuild the churches. Pence says he’s glad to hear construction will start soon on new places of worship.
“I am deeply inspired as are people all around this country by the courage and the resilience of these communities of faith, these families of faith. But also by the generous support of the people of Louisiana and people all across the country.”
