White Lives Matter Ohio sued after 2023 attack on church hosting drag event
Members of an Ohio church filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday against hate group White Lives Matter Ohio, alleging that its members carried out a months-long campaign of “intimidation, hate and violence” culminating in March 2023, when Aimenn Penny tried to burn the house of worship for hosting a drag event.
“Using photos and evidence from their own statements, social media messages and hate literature, the complaint we filed today meticulously documents how members of a local White Lives Matter chapter conspired to deprive members of the Community Church of Chesterland of their church property,” said James Pasch, senior director of national litigation at the Anti-Defamation League, which helped bring the lawsuit alongside law firm Jones Day.
“Their resultant actions in targeting a community church with a hate crime are not just morally abhorrent, they are a clear violation of federal civil rights and property law.”
The suit names Penny, who was sentenced earlier this year to 216 months in prison after pleading guilty to separate federal charges related to the attempted fire-bombing.
Three others are listed as defendants: Brandon and Sherri Perdue, as well as Chris Uthe, the apparent leader of the Ohio group.
The Independent attempted to contact Penny, Mr Uthe, and the Perdues but did not receive a response.
A social media profile on Gab, which appears to be linked to Mr Perdue, contains in its bio a link to the White Lives Matter Ohio Telegram chat.
The complaint lays out months of the extremist group’s alleged activity, from handing out flyers filled with racist and homophobic statements to clashing with counter-protesters, to pressuring a Unitarian Universalist church to cancel a drag event.
The group allegedly sought to recruit new members after the alleged killing of a white woman by a Black man in the state in January 2023 and tried to find new members at a gun show in March 2023.
In addition to these in-person activities, the filing also details extensive activities on social media, including Telegram.
The Community Church of Chesterland attracted the group’s attention when it announced plans to host multiple drag events on 1 April, 2023, as part of its mission to “welcome all, love all, and seek justice for all”.
The church received a deluge of threatening messages online and via voicemail ahead of the event, according to the complaint.
Penny has previously pleaded guilty to attempting on 25 March, 2023 to use two Molotov cocktails to burn down the church.
The attack scorched the church’s front door and a banner hanging over the facility.
The suit seeks a jury trial on five counts: conspiracy to interfere with civil rights; conspiracy to prevent freedom of access to a place of religious worship; civil liability for vandalism, desecration, or ethnic intimidation; trespass to land; and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
According to the ADL, White Lives Matter Ohio is part of a white supremacist network responsible for 160 incidents of racist propaganda in 2023.
