CLEVELAND — An Alliance man will spend 18 years in prison for attempting to firebomb a Geauga County church prior to a drag event last March.
Aimenn Penny, 20, was sentenced after pleading guilty last fall to one count of using fire or explosive to commit a felony and one count of obstruction of persons in the free exercise of religious beliefs. He will also face three years of supervised release after his prison term.
“This sentence holds Mr. Penny accountable for carrying out violence against an Ohio church because he disagreed with the way congregants chose to express their beliefs,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division in a statement announcing the sentencing. “Such acts of extremist violence have no place in our communities and the Justice Department is committed to bringing to justice those who would use or threaten violence to prevent their fellow citizens from freely exercising their fundamental rights.”
Court documents say on March 25, 2023, Penny made Molotov cocktails and drove to the Community Church of Chesterland with the intention of burning the building to the ground. He apparently threw two Molotov cocktails at the church, which was set to host a drag queen brunch and story hour along with Chardon restaurant Element 41 the following weekend. Penny was arrested on March 31 by the FBI.
No one was injured in the attack and officials said while the incident destroyed the church's sign, it left only minimal damage. Penny was indicted in April on four counts, including two counts of arson.
Court documents show Penny decided to change his plea to guilty last October.
After Penny's attempt to burn down the church, area police asked organizers to cancel the April 1 drag queen brunch and story hour "in order to protect all involved, the children attending, and the residents of Chester Township." Organizers refused and the events took place without incident, despite the presence of protesters.
“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,” added U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio. “Hate crimes like Penny’s hurt not only the individual target, but the entire community, causing people to fear attack based on who they love and undermining the sense of safety within places of worship. Violent, bias-motivated extremism has no place in our country, and our office will aggressively prosecute those who commit such crimes.”
Previous Reporting:
- Man pleads guilty for attempting to burn down Geauga County church prior to drag events
- Grand jury indicts man accused of vandalizing Geauga County church
- 'We could not have asked for a better result from today' | Geauga County Drag queen brunch takes place without incident
- Alliance man charged for vandalizing Geauga County church ahead of drag queen brunch and story hour
- Police ask organizers to cancel Saturday's drag queen brunch and story hour in Geauga County 'in order to protect all involved'
