Thread by @mykola

A similar defense was used to plead for leniency for Dylan Roof.

Look, I don’t know where folks get the idea that Autistic people cannot cause real harm or be held accountable for their choices.

Everyone there on Jan 6 had terrible judgment, that’s not autism.

https://twitter.com/ryanjreilly/status/1473006170696822785

Autistic people are vulnerable to manipulation. Not because they’re autistic, but because they spend their lives being told that their way of thinking is incorrect and they have to listen to others.

As we keep trying to tell you, this is a recipe for disaster.

Here’s a case where disaster struck - this autistic asshole was radicalized into a violent hate group.

That sucks for everyone involved, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t face consequences.

Now, if you want to talk about criminal justice reform, yes, let’s. But.

I want to be very clear that my considered position is that when you engage in malicious violence you need to be stopped and held accountable.

For better or for worse this is how we do it.

You can feel compassion for someone manipulated while still holding them accountable.

Every person there was radicalized into a hate mob because Trump and his cronies appealed to their basest, most under-developed impulses and drives.

He is NOT the only autistic in that mix, he’s just one that is using it as an excuse.

And we do not allow that.

“But Myk don’t you feel any compassion? This guy made a mistake but PRISON?”

Who do you think prison is FOR, it’s filled with neurodivergent people who couldn’t get support.

I’m not saying it’s the right solution. I’m saying a white autistic guy doesn’t get to be exempted.

Further, I’d add two days of intense public questioning by other autistic people to his sentence for trying this shit.

This kind of thing is why people are scared of us, it’s why so many autistics don’t know they’re autistic, it’s why so many harmful tropes get circulated.