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Aimenn Penny, 20, was a member of White Lives Matter, Ohio, a
group with racist, pro-Nazi and homophobic views, according to
the U.S. Justice Department.
He was arrested last March several days after he threw Molotov
cocktails at the Community Church of Chesterland in Chesterland,
Ohio.
Penny pleaded guilty in October to a church arson hate crime and
to using fire and explosives to commit a felony. He was
sentenced to 216 months, or 18 years, in prison by U.S. District
Judge Bridget Meehan Brennan, according to a filing in U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
Federal prosecutors said during the case that church burnings
have "a long and sordid history" in the United States, and such
acts serve "as potent a symbol of hate as burning a cross on a
lawn or leaving a hanging noose."
Drag shows often involve feminine clothing, makeup and hair worn
by a man, and have become increasingly mainstream in recent
years in the United States. Ohio Republican lawmakers who oppose
drag shows consider them contrary to traditional values and have
labeled them as explicit and obscene.
U.S. Republicans have led efforts to limit drag in many states
recently. Performers and civil rights groups have condemned the
proposed drag regulations, saying they are unconstitutional,
redundant under existing obscenity laws, and would lead to
further harassment and violence against gay and transgender
people.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Leslie
Adler)
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