This photo from the U.S. Department of Justice shows Aimenn Penny, center facing left, protesting a drag event March 11 in Wadsworth, Ohio.
A 20-year-old Ohio man has been arrested for fire-bombing at the Community Church of Chesterland, in Chesterland, Ohio, in his zeal to protect children from the evils of drag, according to MetroWeekly.
Aimenn Penny of Alliance, Ohio, was arrested Friday, March 31, and allegedly has admitted in an interview with the FBI that he built Molotov cocktails and then threw them at the church because the church had planned to host to drag events on April 1.
In that interview, which was recorded, Penny also allegedly said he tried to burn down the church to “protect” children from drag queens, that he decided to attack the church after becoming increasingly angry after watching internet news feeds of drag shows, and that he would feel better if he had succeeded in actually burning the church down.
After receiving a tip regarding Penny’s involvement in the attack, FBI investigators obtained a court order that allowed them access to location data for the suspect’s phone. That information placed Penny at the church between 1 and 1:31 a.m. on March 25, the time period in which investigators believe the church was attacked.
Penny is a member of the Ohio chapter of the Nazi white supremacist hate group White Lives Matter. He has a confirmed history of participating in prior WLM events and protests targeting drag events while armed with guns and/or knives, and he has said he looks forward to a future race war.
— Tammye Nash
