Louisiana Man Pleads Guilty to Burning Church

A Louisiana man has pled guilty in federal court to committing arson in connection with the malicious burning of St. John Chapel in Caldwell Parish in the early morning of March 27, 2026.

Anthony Dillon Jr., 19, of Columbia, faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in federal prison.

According to court documents, Dillon and an accomplice entered St. John Chapel intending to steal electronic equipment, including multiple television sets.

After stealing several televisions from inside the church, the two ignited a fire in the administrative area of the building, using a fire accelerant within a wooden filing cabinet. A fire-accelerant canine unit alerted at the point of origin, and forensic testing confirmed the presence of an accelerant there. The fire caused extensive damage to the church’s sanctuary.

U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller for the Western District of Louisiana made the announcement.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Louisiana State Fire Marshal, the Caldwell Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this case. It is being prosecuted by United States Attorney Zachary A. Keller with assistance from Special Assistant U.S. Attorney S. Charlotte Farshian and Paralegal Specialist Joanne Henry-Mills.

Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Louisiana