A 20-year-old Alliance man will serve 18 years in prison for attempting to burn down a church because it supports the LGBTQ+ community.
According to the Ohio Department of Justice, Aimenn Penny was sentenced Monday to 216 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Penny went to the Community Church of Chesterland on March 25 and lobbed Molotov cocktails at the building in an attempt to burn it to the ground, authorities said.
The church had previously announced plans to host a "Drag Queen Story Time" event.
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.
“This 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,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Such acts of extremist violence have no place in our communities and the Justice Department is committed to bringing to justice those who would use or threaten violence to prevent their fellow citizens from freely exercising their fundamental rights.”
RELATED: Alliance man facing federal charges for firebombing church in Chesterland, authorities say
You can watch News 5's previous coverage of Penny's alleged attack on the church below:
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