The Department of Justice announced the March 31 arrest of Aimenn D. Penny, 20, of Alliance, on one count of malicious use of explosive materials and one count of possessing a destructive device.
Aimenn D. Penny, 20, of Alliance, was arrested March 31 on one count of malicious use of explosive materials and one count of possessing a destructive device, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Court documents allege Penny used Molotov cocktails during a March 25 attack on the Community Church of Chesterland in what the DOJ said was an attempt to burn the church to the ground.
Burn marks were left on the doors to the church preschool and shards of glass remained at the site from a broken bottle Penny allegedly used in the attack.
CCC Pastor Jess Peacock said in an interview April 1 that while the church suffered no major damage due to rainy weather preventing the fire from spreading, the goal of the attack was to make people afraid in what should be a safe space.
“If someone just threw a Molotov cocktail at your house and it didn’t do a lot of damage, but, you know, there were some burn marks, that would make you feel unsafe in your own home. That would make you feel violated,” he said. “Whether the church burned down or not really isn’t the issue. It’s the intent behind the attack.”
In a statement, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the DOJ National Security Division said Penny allegedly used an explosive device to cause harm to a church he found objectionable.
“It is the solemn duty of the Department of Justice to safeguard the right of all Americans to free expression and I commend the work of law enforcement in this matter,” Olsen said.
According to Agent Lane Thorum, author of the filing, White Lives Matter is “a group with racist, pro-Nazi and homophobic views.” Members of the group showed up to a March 11, 2023, drag queen event in Wadsworth where they carried swastika flags and shouted racial and homophobic slurs, as well as chants of “Heil Hitler,” Thorum’s report said.
The Wadsworth Police Department identified Penny as one of the WLM members present at the drag event March 11. Thorum’s report also said the Alliance Police Department interacted with Penny in October 2022 after he was found distributing flyers throughout the city that were racial in nature, calling African Americans the “problem.”
“Penny stated that he believed African Americans were solely responsible for the high crime rate across the country,” the report said. “Penny further made it clear that he believes — and looks forward to — the civil war coming between races. Penny expressed his belief that the United States will not prosper until all the other races, or ‘weaknesses’ as he called them, are gone.”
Law enforcement used Penny’s phone to trace him to the CCC where, based on an investigation and patrols by Chester police on the night of March 24, it is believed the arson and other damage occurred March 25 between approximately midnight and 2 a.m., the report said.
“On March 31, 2023, a duly authorized search warrant was executed at Penny’s residence, vehicle and his person,” the report said. “The FBI conducted a recorded interview, during which Penny admitted to building the Molotov cocktails and deploying them at CCC with the intent to burn the structure. … (He) stated that he would have felt better if the Molotov cocktails were more effective and burned the entire church to the ground.”
A search of Penny’s residence revealed, among other things, a handwritten manifesto that contained ideological statements, a Nazi flag, Nazi memorabilia, a White Lives Matter of Ohio T-shirt, a gas mask, multiple rolls of blue painter’s tape and gas cans.
If convicted, Penny faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, or up to 20 years, for the malicious use of explosive materials charge, and up to 10 years in prison for the possession of a destructive device charge.
