The U.S. Department of Justice has announced charges against a 20-year-old man from Alliance for allegedly using Molotov cocktails to try and burn a Chesterland church to the ground.
According to authorities, Aimenn D. Penny has been charged with malicious use of explosive material (arson) and possession of a destructive device. He was arrested following an investigation conducted by the Cleveland Division of the FBI and the Chester Township Police Department.
A Molotov cocktail damaged one of the church’s signs and left scorch marks on the building’s exterior. The church was unoccupied at the time of the attack, and no one was injured.
The Church had previously announced plans to host a “Drag Queen Story Time” event on Saturday— something the Chester Township Police Department has since advised against due to threats of potential violence. The church said it would move forward with the event as it is “confident” in its security plan.
The Cleveland Field Office of the FBI gathered information that Penny was part of a White Lives Matter group that espouses racist, pro-Nazi and homophobic views. At a March 11 drag queen event in Wadsworth, prosecutors said, Penny joined members of the group who showed up carrying flags with swastikas and yelling homophobic slurs, prosecutors said. Penny attended the event wearing military-style gear and carrying a firearm.
Broken vodka bottles used to make Molotov cocktails
Investigators secured a court order to search location data on Penny’s phone that connected him to the scene of the church and Friday conducted a search of his residence where he admitted to building the Molotov cocktails and targeting the church with them.
“PENNY stated that he was trying to protect children and stop the drag show event,” the affidavit said. “PENNY stated that night he became more and more angry after watching internet videos of news feeds and drag shows in France and decided to attack the church. PENNY stated that he would have felt better if the Molotov cocktails were more effective and burned the entire church to the ground.”
The brains of the White Lives Matter group of Ohio is Christopher Joe Uthe of Warren Ohio, aka Crazy Kriz. Warren may be best know for it’s bestiality.
