After glueing his hand to a railing at the Pennsylvania capitol building in an effort to protest legislators’ indifference to trans youth suicide, a Vermont man has been fined over $16K in damages.

Reports the Advocate:

James Lantz, a filmmaker known online as “Angry Gay Grandpa,” pleaded guilty on Tuesday to criminal mischief and misdemeanor vandalism as a result of his demonstration in April of last year, during which interrupted a Senate session by distributing flyers and yelling at Republican state senator Ryan Aument, who had sponsored several anti-LGBTQ+ bills. Lantz then glued his hand to a railing on the fourth-floor visitors’ gallery.

“I felt that if the cycle could be interrupted — even by one voice, one story — we might save a life — here, or nationally,” Lantz told Dauphin County Judge William Tully, via Penn Live. “Time, I believed, was of the essence. I knew I had to act. I also knew my time was limited. I have stage 4 cancer.

Lantz said that he had attempted on over six occasions to meet with Aument to discuss suicide among trans youth, citing five who died by suicide in Lancaster County between 2022 and 2024. Aument never returned his request.

Lantz was initially charged with two felony counts of institutional vandalism and criminal mischief, as well as a misdemeanor offense for obstructing an official proceeding. The felony vandalism charge was lowered to a misdemeanor as part of the plea deal. He has been fined $16,575 for the damages — $11,250 for carpet replacement, $3,775 to remove the glue, and $1,550 to repair the wood trim.

Read the complete Advocate story here.

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