Nazi sentenced to 18 years for transphobic hate crime

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A member of the pro-Nazi group White Lives Matter was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for firebombing an Ohio church that had been planning to host two drag events.

Aimeen Penny, a 20-year-old far-right extremist from Ohio, was arrested last year after he made Molotov cocktails and threw them at the Community Church of Chesterland in Chersterland, Ohio, on March 25, 2023.

Penny pleaded guilty in October to a church arson hate crime as well as to using fire and explosives to commit a felony. Judge Bridget Meehan Brennan sentenced Penny to a total of 216 months in prison on Monday.

In a sentencing memo, federal prosecutors said that church burnings "have a long and sordid history in the United States," and said that burning a church "is as potent a symbol of hate as burning a cross on a lawn or leaving a hanging noose." According to prosecutors, Penny had previously traveled to Wadsworth, Ohio, in advance of a drag queen story hour to distribute propaganda flyers for the group. During an interview with the FBI, Penny "stated that he would have felt better if the Molotov cocktails were more effective and burned the entire church to the ground," prosecutors wrote.

Appearing in court for the sentencing, Penny did not apologize and justified his actions as protecting children, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Prosecutors said that Penny was a member of the White Lives Matter group, which they described as having "racist, pro-Nazi, and homophobic views."

Inside Penny's vehicle, prosecutors wrote, authorities found a "M4 A1 Carbine 5.56mm assault rifle with scope, 7 rifle magazines containing 5.56mm ammunition, a Ruger handgun, 3 magazines containing 9mm ammunition, a tactical vest, a shield, and 3 knives in sheaths" while a search of his residence found "a Glock 9mm handgun, 4 magazines containing 9 mm ammunition, a Smith and Wesson MP-15 rifle, a Walther Pistol Model P22, Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works 12-gauge shotgun, 15 magazines loaded with ammunition, various boxes of ammunition, and Nazi memorabilia."

Penny, the FBI said, wrote a "manifesto" that took pride in the attack, claiming that he "was respected for it" in jail. The manifesto was "full of twisted and false historical narratives, calls for war and violence, justifications for his actions, and the spewing of transphobic and anti-Semitic hatred," prosecutors said.

Penny believed that he was doing "God's work" and that he "steered history" by attacking the church, prosecutors said. Penny, authorities said, appeared to have "increasingly radicalized via online interactions since at least 2017," and "gravitated towards Nazi ideology and white supremacist groups."

Matthew G. Olsen, the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said the sentence "holds Mr. Penny accountable for carrying out violence against an Ohio church because he disagreed with the way congregants chose to express their beliefs,” and that "acts of extremist violence have no place in our communities."

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said officials hoped the "significant sentence sends a clear and resounding message that this type of hate-fueled attack against a church will not be tolerated" in America.

Also, we need hate speech laws stricter than the ones in Germany and Sweden. Even quoting verses from the Bible or Quran that condemn homosexuality should be criminalized.

I posit the current push by conservatives to end "woke" hate speech legislation in workplaces, schools and in publications perpetuates public stigma against minorities who have traditionally been marginalised.

Maybe we can ban sexual abstinence next.

This sound like you think the state should force people to engage in sex regardless of their consent. People have every right to choose to abstain, denying people that right means forcing them to endure rape.

Tim are you actually pro state sanctioned rape, or did you just pick a terrible choice of words? This isn't the first time you've advocated for banning abstinence either, so let's clear up what you're actually in favour of.

It's about denying bodily autonomy to evangelicals, just like they've done to countless red state women.

Ultimately, everything conservatives hold dear should be outlawed. Guns, hate speech, abstinence, pickup trucks, country music...

Banning/outlawing abstinence? Seriously?!

From what I’ve heard, schools in conservative areas tend to push abstinence in sex ed classes to the point that they don’t teach consent and safe sex at all or, at least, enough. As a homeschooler, I was only taught abstinence with disastrous results. That stuff needs to change, but there’s nothing wrong with making the choice to be abstinent.

I’d rather live in a red state now than under a regime that encouraged or enforced rape.

In short, a Mao-style Cultural Revolution is the only way to impose NYC/San Francisco/Seattle values on the rest of the country--which is my goal.

And no, I do not support rape, I am merely trying to deprogram people who buy into purity culture. When I talk about "banning abstinence", I mean doing away with purity culture.

Maybe we can ban sexual abstinence next.