‘NO ROOM FOR VIOLENCE’

Ohio Man Admits He Tried to Burn Down Church for Hosting Drag Events

Aimenn Penny claimed he wanted to protect children from attending the entirely voluntary drag shows.

An Ohio man pleaded guilty on Monday to arson and obstruction for attempting to burn down the Community Church of Chesterland because of its support for the LGBTQI+ community. According to court documents, Aimenn Penny, 20, threw two Molotov cocktails at the church on Mar. 25 in response to its plan to host two drag events. Penny was a member of White Lives Matter and claimed to law enforcement that he wanted to protect children from the drag shows. Penny faces up to 10 years in prison for the arson charge and up to 20 years on the obstruction charge for preventing people from exercising their religious beliefs. He did not make a comment in court, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 29. In a press release from the Department of Justice, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division said, “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.”