Once there, investigators said, he hurled two molotov cocktails, hoping to burn “the entire church to the ground.”.
On Monday, Penny, 20, was sentenced to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to two felonies: committing a church arson hate crime and using fire and explosives to commit a felony.
“This defendant tried to burn down a church simply because its members created space for and provided support to the LGBTQ+ community.”.
On March 25, the Community Church of Chesterland reported to police that the church had been damaged by molotov cocktails overnight.
No one was injured, and no one was inside the church at the time of the attack, WEWS reported.
Penny told agents that he was trying to protect children by stopping the drag event.
Parishioners left the church, and a preschool moved out because of the attack, she said. »