Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
'White Lives Matter' Activist Tried to Firebomb Church to Stop Drag Show, Feds Say
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
April 25, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

An man told investigators that he tried to burn down an church in Ohio because he wanted to prevent a drag show that was scheduled to take place there, federal prosecutors allege in newly unsealed charges.

Aimenn Penny, a 20-year-old from Alliance who is a member of a “white lives matter” group that espouses racist and neo-Nazi views, tried to burn down the Community Church of Chesterland early on March 25, authorities allege in court documents unsealed Monday. Chesterland is a small community east of Cleveland.

According to the criminal complaint, Penny said he tried to burn down the church using Molotov cocktails because he wanted to “protect the children and stop the drag show event.” He also regretted that it didn’t work, authorities said.

The FBI said the church, which was unoccupied at the time, sustained minimal damage and had scorch marks on the front door. According to court documents, investigators found broken glass from a vodka bottle and a beer bottle each containing a cloth-type material, along with a burnt matchstick and a blue plastic spray bottle filled with gasoline.

Penny was arrested March 31 and remains in custody. His attorney, John Greven, has declined to comment on the charges.

Penny is charged with violating the Church Arson Prevention Act, using fire to commit a federal felony, the malicious use of explosive materials and possessing a destructive device. He faces up to 50 years in prison if he’s convicted on all counts.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Fashion Fair’s Forever 21 to Close. ‘Still a Ways to Go,’ Says Employee

DON'T MISS

Who Runs Elon Musk’s DOGE? Not Musk, the White House Says.

DON'T MISS

New Self-Pollinating Almond Tree Could Be Huge for a Big Fresno Cash Crop

DON'T MISS

Madera County Secures First Fentanyl-Related Homicide Conviction

DON'T MISS

Musk Team Seeks Access to IRS System With Taxpayers’ Records

DON'T MISS

Bannon Calls Musk a ‘Parasitic Illegal Immigrant’

DON'T MISS

Fresno Weather Forecast: Pretty as a Postcard

DON'T MISS

Kennedy Says ‘Nothing’ Off-Limits in Scrutinizing Chronic Disease

DON'T MISS

Judge Declines to Immediately Block Elon Musk or DOGE From Federal Data or Layoffs

DON'T MISS

NBA Playoff Race Heats Up as All-Star Break Ends

UP NEXT

Madera County Secures First Fentanyl-Related Homicide Conviction

UP NEXT

Musk Team Seeks Access to IRS System With Taxpayers’ Records

UP NEXT

Bannon Calls Musk a ‘Parasitic Illegal Immigrant’

UP NEXT

Judge Declines to Immediately Block Elon Musk or DOGE From Federal Data or Layoffs

UP NEXT

Aryan Brotherhood Members Convicted of Murder, Racketeering in Federal Trial

UP NEXT

Trump to Sign Executive Orders as Joint Interview with Musk Airs

UP NEXT

Timeline of a Cultlike Group Tied to the Killing of a Border Patrol Agent

UP NEXT

Trump Admin Gives Schools Deadline to End DEI Programs or Lose Federal Funding

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Tiffany Evelyn Tate

UP NEXT

NAACP Urges Support for Companies Upholding DEI Commitments

Madera County Secures First Fentanyl-Related Homicide Conviction

9 hours ago

Musk Team Seeks Access to IRS System With Taxpayers’ Records

9 hours ago

Bannon Calls Musk a ‘Parasitic Illegal Immigrant’

9 hours ago

Fresno Weather Forecast: Pretty as a Postcard

9 hours ago

Kennedy Says ‘Nothing’ Off-Limits in Scrutinizing Chronic Disease

9 hours ago

Judge Declines to Immediately Block Elon Musk or DOGE From Federal Data or Layoffs

10 hours ago

NBA Playoff Race Heats Up as All-Star Break Ends

10 hours ago

NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon Talks ‘Days of Thunder’ Sequel With Tom Cruise

10 hours ago

Adames Joins Giants, Excited to Team Up With Gold Glover Chapman

10 hours ago

Leonard Peltier Released After Biden Commuted Sentence in FBI Agents’ Killings

11 hours ago

Fashion Fair’s Forever 21 to Close. ‘Still a Ways to Go,’ Says Employee

Signs hung throughout fast-fashion clothing store Forever 21 show discounts ranging from 10% to 40% off the “entire store.” And,...

6 hours ago

6 hours ago

Fashion Fair’s Forever 21 to Close. ‘Still a Ways to Go,’ Says Employee

8 hours ago

Who Runs Elon Musk’s DOGE? Not Musk, the White House Says.

8 hours ago

New Self-Pollinating Almond Tree Could Be Huge for a Big Fresno Cash Crop

Fentanyl M30 Pills
9 hours ago

Madera County Secures First Fentanyl-Related Homicide Conviction

9 hours ago

Musk Team Seeks Access to IRS System With Taxpayers’ Records

FILE — Steve Bannon speaks to reporters outside State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Feb. 11, 2025. Stephen Bannon, a top adviser during President Trump’s first term and a key figure among his supporters, said Elon Musk wants to “play-act as God” as part of his push to overhaul the federal government. (Jefferson Siegel/The New York Times)
9 hours ago

Bannon Calls Musk a ‘Parasitic Illegal Immigrant’

9 hours ago

Fresno Weather Forecast: Pretty as a Postcard

9 hours ago

Kennedy Says ‘Nothing’ Off-Limits in Scrutinizing Chronic Disease

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend