Ohio Church Firebombed by White Lives Matter Member Over Plans To Host Drag Show Events

A White Lives Matter member has firebombed an Ohio church after the church announced that it was planning to host drag show events. The suspect used Molotov cocktails to ignite the attack.

The White Lives Matter member was identified as Aimenn Penny. He admitted to building the firebombs and attempted to burn down the church, according to The Independent.

The group was known to be a racist pro-Nazi homophobic group based in Ohio.

Court documents showed that when authorities conducted a search of Penny's apartment, they found Nazi memorabilia, a Nazi flag, and a manifesto.

The court documents also noted that Penny said he was "trying to protect children and stop the drag show event."

He admitted to becoming angrier after he watched internet videos of newsfeeds and drag shows in France, leading him to attack the church.

Penny said he would have felt better if the cocktails burned the church to the ground.

Ohio Church Firebombed

Penny was one of the men suspected of firebombing the Community Church of Chesterland. It was his response to the church's plan to hold two drag-related events on April 1.

Church representatives noted that they received hate mail before the attack in March, which burned its front door, damaged the exterior, and broke a sign at the corner of the property.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler, for the Northern District of Ohio, said that violence and destruction were never "an acceptable way to express a disagreement" with the said point of view.

Penny also showed up to another drag event on March 11, with other White Lives Matter members carrying "swastika flags" while shouting racial and homophobic slurs. The members were also chanting "Heil Hitler," as reported by Law & Crime.

In October 2022, Penny was also seen distributing hateful flyers, according to Alliance Police Department.

The affidavit supporting criminal charges against Penny noted that the man told the authorities that the flyers "were an effort to spread the word."

In addition, officials said Penny believes "African Americans were the problem."

Hate Crimes in the United States

The Federal Bureau of Investigation noted in its data that hate crimes rose around 12% from 2020 to 2021. The agency noted that the increase was mainly driven by crimes based on race and ethnicity.

FBI detailed that hate crimes had increased from 8,120 in 2020 to 9,065 in 2021, which was an 11.6% uptick.

Around 65% of the victims were targeted because of their race, ethnicity, or ancestry, while another 15.9% were targeted based on sexual orientation and 14.1% for religious beliefs, as detailed by Al Jazeera.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland offered states and municipalities in 2021 more resources for tracking and looking into hate crimes.

The American Psychological Association noted that such types of crimes send messages to members of the victims' communities that they are "unwelcome" and "unsafe" in the community.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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