Key takeaways:
- 20-year-old Ohio man Aimenn Penny pleaded guilty to attempting to burn down a church due to anger over its plans to host two drag events
- Penny is a member of a local White Lives Matter group with neo-Nazi members
- Penny faces up to 20 years in prison and the church has since hosted the drag story hour for children
A 20-year-old Ohio man has pleaded guilty to attempting to burn down a church in a rural area outside of Cleveland due to his anger over the church’s plans to host two drag events.
Aimenn Penny was arrested in March after throwing two Molotov cocktails at the Community Church of Chesterland. The cocktails, made with a vodka bottle and a beer bottle, left scorch marks on the building’s exterior walls, but the church did not burn.
Penny pleaded guilty Monday to violating the Church Arson Prevention Act and to using fire and explosives to commit a felony. He is a member of a local White Lives Matter group whose members include neo-Nazis, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement, “Our churches should be safe havens for all people, not sites subjected to violence motivated by hate and vitriol.”
Penny is scheduled to be sentenced on November 30th and faces up to 20 years in prison. The church has since hosted the drag story hour for children, and is planning to host more events in the future.
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