MEGAN HENRY, Ohio Capital Journal — Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation tracked more than 60 anti-LGBTQ incidents in Ohio in just over two years, according to a new report.
GLAAD documented more than 1,850 anti-LGBTQ incidents nationwide from June 1, 2022 to October 1, 2024 — including protests at drag shows, vandalism, bomb threats, assault and arson. These incidents resulted in at least 161 injuries and 21 deaths (including one in Ohio), according to the report.
GLAAD recently launched the Anti-LGBTQ Extremism Reporting Tracker (ALERT) to record these incidents. The ALERT Desk tracks anti-LGBTQ incidents through self-reports, media reports, social media posts, law enforcement and data sharing from partner organizations.
Ohio had two reported arson incidents — someone set fire to a Pride flag at a residential home in Hudson in June 2023 and Aimenn D. Penny threw two Molotov cocktails at the Community Church of Chesterland in Geauga County in March 2023 because the church was planning on hosting two drag events. Penny was sentenced to 18 years in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
There were also two reports of assault in Ohio. Transgender woman Kassim Omar was shot by two teenagers in Columbus in June 2022 and died from her injuries last month, according to The Columbus Dispatch. The other reported assault happened when a Cleveland man assaulted a gay man and used homophobic slurs in June 2023.
Ohio had 24 reports of anti-LGBTQ protests, 15 reports of propaganda distribution, 13 reports of verbal or written harassment or threats, and 10 reports of vandalism/theft/property damage.
Even though the number of hate crimes are dropping, the number of hate crimes targeting LGBTQ+ is on the rise, according to the FBI’s latest annual report. There were 2,402 incidents relating to an alleged victim’s sexual orientation in 2023, an increase from 1,947 the year before. There were 547 incidents related to an alleged victim’s gender identity in 2023, a jump from 469 the year prior, according to the FBI report.
“Many of these incidents, like protests at Pride events, don’t meet the criteria necessary to bring legal charges, they aren’t included in most official hate crime counts,” according to GLAAD’s report. “We must recognize that the impact of these acts on local LGBTQ communities is felt regardless of whether or not the incident is prosecuted.”