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WASHINGTON (WJW) — An Alliance man who admitted to throwing Molotov cocktails at a Chesterland church because it was planning to host drag events was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Monday.
Aimenn D. Penny, 20, of Alliance, pleaded guilty in October to violating the Church Arson Prevention Act in his March 25, 2023, attack on the Community Church of Chesterland .
He was “angered” by the church’s plans to host two drag show events and hoped to “burn it to the ground,” authorities said at the time. He admitted to the attack when interviewed by FBI agents, saying “he was trying to protect children and stop the drag show event,” according to his criminal affidavit.
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The church was unoccupied at the time of the attack and sustained minimal damage, owners said. The drag show event set for that weekend went on as planned.
