Ohio man sentenced to 18 years for firebombing church over drag show
- Penny threw Molotov cocktails at Ohio church, protesting LGBTQ+ support
- Prosecutor: 'He committed crimes fueled by hate'
- Drag shows have become a target of conservative groups across US
OHIO, UNITED STATES – 2023/04/01: A Drag performer reads a children’s book at The Community Church of Chesterland’s Drag Queen Story Hour in Chesterland, Ohio. The heightened security at the church, which was reportedly firebombed a week before the event, comes on the heels of a recent spike of anti-drag demonstrations in Ohio communities and across the country. (Photo by Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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(NewsNation) — An Ohio man was sentenced to 18 years in prison Tuesday for attempting to burn down a church that supported the LGBTQ+ community, the Department of Justice announced.
Aimenn D. Penny, 20, was arrested and charged with arson and possession of a destructive device after he used Molotov cocktails against the Community Church of Chesterland (CCC) last March. Penny pleaded guilty to the charges in October and confessed he was angered at the church for planning to host two drag show events.
“Aimenn Penny will spend the next 18 years in prison because he committed crimes fueled by hate, attempting to burn down a church because its members supported the LGBTQI+ community,” U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio said.
Court filings revealed Penny, a member of a “white lives matter” group that espouses racist and neo-Nazi views, felt no remorse for his actions, only pride, The Columbus Dispatch reported. In fact, Penny said his only regret was that the “church didn’t burn down to the ground,” the report said.
Drag shows have become a target of conservative groups and leaders around the nation, with some claiming the art form sexually grooms children.
Performers and event organizers say the shows are innocent fun and that it’s those who protest against them who are terrorizing and harming children and making them political pawns.
“There is no room in this country for such bias-motivated violence and terror, and the Justice Department will continue to protect all Americans in their free exercise of religious beliefs by vigorously prosecuting those who target houses of worship,” Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.