(NewsNation) — Aimenn D. Penny pleaded guilty to throwing two Molotov cocktails at a church that was hosting drag events earlier this year.
According to the criminal complaint, he tried to burn the church down on March 25, to “protect the children and stop the drag show event.” He admitted to firebombing the church and said he regretted that it didn’t work, authorities say.
Penny, 20, is a member of a “white lives matter” group that espouses racist and neo-Nazi views.
Penny is charged with violating the Church Arson Prevention Act, using fire to commit a federal felony, the malicious use of explosive materials and possessing a destructive device. He faces up to 50 years in prison if he’s convicted on all counts.
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, though, 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.