Ohio man who threw Molotov cocktails at church gets 18 years in prison

An Ohio man who prosecutors say set fire to a church in anger last year by throwing Molotov cocktails at it as it planned to stage two drag shows was sentenced Monday to 18 years in prison. federal authorities said.

The man, Aimenn D. Penny, 20, of Alliance, Ohio, who was arrested and charged after the March 25 episode, pleaded guilty in October to violating the Church Arson Prevention Act and to using fire and explosives to commit a crime, according to federal prosecutors, who recommended a 20-year prison sentence.

“We hope this important sentence sends a clear and resounding message that this type of hate-fueled attack on a church in our country will not be tolerated,” said Kristen Clarke, chief of the Justice Department's civil rights division. said in a statement on Tuesday.

John W. Greven, a lawyer for Mr. Penny, said in an interview Tuesday that his client planned to appeal the verdict. He called Mr Penny's case “a classic example” of a young person looking for acceptance and turning to the internet to find it.

“I feel like he's been brainwashed by some people because there's actually nothing in his past that would ever indicate he would do something like that,” Mr. Greven said. “It's sad from all sides.”

The Community Church of Chesterland planned to host two drag shows on April 1, 2023. Days before the planned events, on March 25, the church reported to local police that the building had been damaged by Molotov cocktails overnight, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. According to the complaint, there were scorch marks on the front door and a sign outside the building. A sign on the site was also damaged.

The drag shows – one drag show intended for adults and one drag story hour for families – went on as planned.

“I'm not going to pretend that his violent and hateful actions didn't scare some people,” Jess Peacock, the church's pastor, said during Monday's sentencing hearing. “It did. We had a few people leave the church, and the preschool that operated out of our building chose to find a new home.”

The FBI's Cleveland Field Office learned during the investigation that Mr. Penny was responsible for the attack and that he was a member of an Ohio group called White Lives Matter, which he said held “racist, pro-Nazi and homophobic views ' has. to the complaint.

Earlier that month, members of that group had attended a drag event in Wadsworth, Ohio, where they carried swastika flags and shouted racist and homophobic slurs and “Heil Hitler,” the complaint said. Mr. Penny attended that event wearing camouflage pants, a tactical vest and a jacket with a firearms patch, the complaint said.

Shows featuring drag performers that challenge assumptions about gender have become a battleground over gender and identity in the United States in recent years. Supporters see family shows as opportunities to welcome young people who may be uncomfortable with traditional gender roles, while opponents, often conservatives and Republicans, argue that the performers want to target children and sexualize them.

Several states, including Tennessee, Idaho and Texas, have considered legislation that would rein in performance. The Supreme Court in November declined to revive a Florida law that restricted the performances.

The Anti-Defamation League and LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD said Tuesday that they had found at least 41 other anti-LGBTQ+ episodes targeting religious institutions between August 2022 and August 2023.

This data reflects “a growing rise in anti-LGBTQ+ hate and extremism in the US,” Kelly Fishman, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement. “We hope this sentence will send a strong message that such hate-motivated crimes will never be tolerated.”

The Community Church of Chesterland prides itself on being “an open and affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ,” according to its Facebook page. The church community encourages people to always be themselves, and states that 'the law cannot tell you who you are', and that includes 'religious extremists'.

In a statement posted on Facebook on Tuesday, the church said it was “relieved to finally have closure on what happened last year, but we are not celebrating Mr. Penny's sentence.”

“It is a tragedy that ignorance and hatred will put this young man's life on hold for nearly 20 years,” the church wrote. “It is also tragic that progressive churches, synagogues and mosques have to devote so much energy and resources to vigilance against the violence of small-minded people.”