James Lantz, a self-described angry gay grandpa, pleaded guilty to criminal mischief in court on Tuesday for gluing himself to a rail inside the Pennsylvania state legislature last year to get a transphobic Republican senators attention.Lantz was ordered to pay $16,575 for damage to the state Capitol and a $200 fine to the court as part of a plea deal, Penn Live reports. Related A county faced a trans suicide crisis. A gay man took drastic measures to make GOP leaders listen. The activist glued himself to the state senate while wearing a sweatshirt that read ASK WHY 5 DIED. Lantz, a 64-year-old documentary filmmaker from Vermont, traveled to Harrisburg in April 2024 to confront state Sen. Ryan Aument (R), whose district in Lancaster County saw five suicides by trans youth over 18 months as Aument promoted anti-trans legislation from his state Senate seat. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today While in the fourth-floor visitors gallery, Lantz disrupted a Senate session for several minutes, shouting at Aumont and throwing flyers onto the Senate floor, before gluing his hand to the railing.Wearing a white hoodie with a trans flag and large black text that read, ASK WHY 5DIED.com,Lantz shouted at Aument, You are culpable for the deaths of five trans children! On April 29, Lantz was charged with two felonies related to institutional vandalism and criminal mischief, as well as a misdemeanor offense for obstructing an official proceeding. As part of the plea deal, the felonies were reduced to misdemeanor charges. In addition to the restitution and court fine, Lantz will serve a year on probation. Aument licensed and encouraged bigotry, hate and bullying against a very small group of transgender and non-binary kids, Lantz said in court. I just wanted to be heard peacefully. I felt that if the cycle could be interrupted even by one voice, one story we might save a life here, or nationally, he told Dauphin County Judge William Tully. 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.I remember what I endured as a closeted teen in the 1970s, Lantz said. I dont want to see another LGBTQ kid die by suicide. Our kids are suffering physically, mentally and emotionally. And I did what I felt I had to do. Lantz told the court he reached out on six occasions to meet with Sen. Aument, but never received a response. Hes documented the rise of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and legislation on his website Angry Gay Grandpa.Prosecutors took issue with Lantzs description of his protest as peaceful.Our office disagrees that damaging property is a form of peaceful protest, prosecutor Alisa Davidson told PennLive on Wednesday. The plea agreement was a fair outcome that recovered money spent repairing the damage done.While Lantz appeared in court, Mark Clatterbuck, the father of one of those five trans youth who died by suicide, sat in the visitors gallery in support. He spoke on the steps of the Capitol afterward. A parents worst nightmare is what brings me to this press conference today, Clatterbuck told reporters.Clatterbucks 22-year-old son, Ash, was a college junior majoring in political science and journalism, and would have graduated this past May, his father said. He died by suicide a year ago in February.His dad read from an op-ed Ash wrote for LancasterOnline just months before his death.To politicians (and others who are) advocating and propagating hatred against the LGBTQ+ community, I implore you: Why are you so scared of us? Why do you hold so much hate? America is a country of diversity, inclusion, strength and liberty. How does my very existence challenge, in any way, those values your values? Your actions cannot change who we are. The only thing you can change is your own attitude toward us.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.