It was in the late 1970s when a teenage James Lantz lost a close friend to suicide something he believes to this day happened "because he was gay and was not accepted."The filmmaker describes his upbringing in a small Virginia town as conservative and Christian, recalling the kind of place where "nobody was out." Now 64, Lantz feels as if he's been transported back to his youth as he grapples with the losses of five transgender and nonbinary young people, all of whom died by suicide in the same Pennsylvania county within 18 months. It was their stories that would reignite Lantz's life mission, and ultimately land him in jail with a fine of over $16,000. "Having grown up a closeted gay teen in Virginia ... I knew how that felt," Lantz tells The Advocate. "I know that I got extremely depressed sometimes. I know that I have been suicidal at times. I know what these kids are experiencing. All they need is just a little bit of support. They need an adult in their life, or just an adult anywhere, to listen and say I see you, I support you, and you are loved."Related: Pennsylvania fines gay grandpa with stage 4 cancer $16k for protesting trans youth suicideLantz pleaded guilty on Tuesday to criminal mischief and misdemeanor vandalism as a result of his demonstration in April of last year, during which he interrupted a Senate session by yelling at state Sen. Ryan Aument. The Republican had sponsored several anti-LGBTQ+ bills, including the state's "Don't Say Gay" law, a trans sports ban, and a ban on LGBTQ+ books that he referred to as "pornographic."Around 39 percent of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, according to a 2024 national survey from The Trevor Project, including 46 percent of trans and nonbinary youth. Those who reported living in accepting communities attempted suicide at less than half the rate of those who reported living in unaccepting communities. Despite this, the Trump Administration recently ended the 988 suicide hotline's specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth.Upon hearing about the five deaths, which took place in Aument's Lancaster County between 2022 and 2024, Lantz said that he requested to meet with the senator on over six occasions, but that he never received a response. Neither did the family of one of the trans youth, who are Aument's neighbors. Lantz says that he was "so incensed" by Aument's "ghosting" that he wanted to take action, but he realized "the only way that I can be heard here was to go down and try to confront him directly." So, he looked up when the state Senate would be in session, and formulated a plan.On April 29, 2024, Lantz made it through security with a small hand sanitizer bottle he had filled with superglue. Officers found flyers he intended to distribute in one of his pockets and confiscated them, but missed the others he was keeping in a different pocket. He says his plan wasn't intended to cause damage, but rather to protect himself."I'm a grandfather with stage 4 cancer," Lantz says. "If a policeman not even just tackles me, but shoves me down onto the ground, I'm going to break a lot of bones, because the cancer is gravitated to my bones. The reason I carried the glue was I thought that there would be less of a chance for them tackling me. I'm not going anywhere if my hand is glued to the railing."Once he was on the fourth-floor visitors gallery, Lantz "put a whole bunch of super glue on my hand and plopped it on the railing and waited about 30 to 60 seconds for it to take." He saw Aument on the Senate floor below, and "belted out what I had to say to him" as he scattered his flyers.Lantz commanded the floor, speaking about the five youth who died by suicide for several minutes, issuing three demands for Aument: to reach out to the parents and express condolences, to reconsider the legislation that he introduces, and to resign. Aument resigned in December to become State Director for U.S. Senator Dave McCormick without commenting on the trans youth. He was replaced in a special election by Democrat James Andrew Malone, despite the district leaning Republican."I think I scared the shit out of Senator Aument," he says. "He whipped around and cringed as though the voice of God was yelling at him."Aument scurried under the balcony to avoid looking at Lantz, Lantz says, and law enforcement quickly acted to remove him, both of which Lantz expected. What he says surprised him was the support he received from those around him, even the people tasked with ending his demonstration. The filmmaker recalls the officers who removed him being "pretty chill," and the nurse who worked to unstick his hand whispering to him, "Those poor kids."Even when he arrived at the police station, Lantz says the processing officer who greeted him told him, "Sir, I really respect you for what you did. We should be asking our politicians to be answerable to their actions more often."Lantz spent 12 hours in a jail cell, and was 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 his eventual plea deal. Lantz has been fined $16,575 for the damages the official invoice obtained by Penn Live shows $11,250 for carpet replacement, $3,775 to remove the glue, and $1,550 to repair the wood trim. Alisa Davidson, a prosecutor with the Dauphin County District Attorneys Office, told the outlet that the fines are high because the damaged objects are historic.Lantz isn't quite sure where the carpet damage charges come from, calling it an "insane amount of money." He now must set up a payment plan with the state, which is pushing for him to pay back the fines within just a year. "I've been a filmmaker for all my professional life and an adjunct college professor for some of that. I don't have that money at all," he says."What this proves is the sad fact that while Pennsylvania did not ignore the glue that I accidentally spilled on the chair, they did ignore the suicides of five trans and nonbinary youth," Lantz continues. "Which logically would say that in the state of Pennsylvania, a chair is worth more than a trans youth."Lantz, known online as "Angry Gay Grandpa," has not yet launched a public fundraiser to cover the cost of the damages, but has been raising money through GoFundMe since February for a commercial seeking to uplift LGBTQ+ youth. Not Losing You is a public service announcement that aims to bridge the gap between queer children and their conservative or Christian families who may not understand them."I want to be in the living room and some of these rural community homes where there is a, a gay or trans youth," Lantz explains. "I want [their parents] to realize 'I don't have to say that I'm gonna vote for a Democrat and I don't have to say that I understand what you're going through. But I can say no matter what, I don't want to lose you.'"In what he calls the "final chapter" of his life, Lantz is "absolutely dedicated to getting out as much media as I can to support trans and LGBTQ youth, because I don't want any more kids dying by suicide." The deaths in Lancaster County are especially tragic, the filmmaker says, as he deeply believes "these could have been preventable.""These five trans and nonbinary youth suicides, my cancer, and my absolute dedication to not having kids die by suicide was a combination that made me do things I would never have done in a previous life, or before the last five years with my cancer," Lantz says. "But this just pushed me over the edge, and I was proud to do it. And I'll be damned if I wouldn't do it again."If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text, or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org for 24/7 access to free and confidential services. Trans Lifeline, designed for transgender or gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The lifeline also provides resources to help with other crises, such as domestic violence situations. The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 24 and younger), can be reached at (866) 488-7386. Users can also access chat services at TheTrevorProject.org/Help or text START to 678678.