When I first looked at the headline on one of the articles I sourced to write my article, it reminded me of an algebraic equation that I would have to “solve” in order to figure out what happened when — and what, exactly, was this guy’s issue when this whole thing started and what it is, now:

Man Convicted of Mosque Bombing Blames ‘Right-Wing Blogs for Fueling ‘Inner-Conflict,’ Says He’s Now a Transgender Woman and Calls for Leniency Based on ‘Gender Dysphoria’

See what I mean?

Anyway, as reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, an Illinois man was convicted in December 2020 of orchestrating a 2017 attack at the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. The convicted bomber, Michael Hari, was the leader of an anti-government militia group called the White Rabbits. Some of those militia members testified against Hari in court.

5/ AUGUST 2017: Members of a far-right militia bombed the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, MN in an effort “to scare” Muslims. https://t.co/roygwBbTyZ

— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) January 10, 2021

Hari told acolytes the Islamic Center served as a training and recruiting ground for ISIS.

These volunteers thanked hundreds of visitors who attended the “Solidarity Event” at Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington tonight. pic.twitter.com/PHZxfV4TJw

— Doualy Xaykaothao (@DoualyX) August 9, 2017

Here’s additional background, via the Star Tribune:

On Aug. 4, 2017, Hari picked up Joe Morris, 25, and Michael McWhorter, 31, in a rented pickup truck filled with assault rifles, a sledgehammer and a 20-pound black powder bomb and drove to Minnesota.

During the trial, Morris and McWhorter told the jury that, under Hari’s instructions, they broke open a window to the mosque and tossed the bomb into the imam’s office as people gathered inside for a morning prayer.

Hari supervised from the truck, and all three slapped a high-five as they sped away. Morris and McWhorter both pleaded guilty to their roles in the bombing and became key witnesses for the prosecution’s case against Hari.

“The property damage was collateral to [Hari’s] real purpose,” prosecutors say in court documents. “This bomb — the defendant’s bomb — was an act of terror intended to destroy the heart of a community.”

Hence, federal prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for Hari.

Federal prosecutors are asking Judge Donovan Frank to sentence Michael Hari, (AKA Emily Hari) 50, of Clarence, Ill. to life in prison for the 2017 firebombing of the Dar-Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minn. pic.twitter.com/FuYsCYodzg

— Matt Sepic (@msepic) August 12, 2021

The Plot Thickens 

So Michael Hari — who now goes by Emily Claire Hari — is facing the possibility of a life sentence, but his/her defense attorney has asked the court for leniency based on Hari’s “inner turmoil” about his/her “gender identity.” Of course, she did.

If we’ve learned anything, in today’s America, there is always an extenuating circumstance — or ten — as to why “some people” are “less guilty” of the crimes they commit, whether it’s skin color, gender, gender identification, or whatever the hell other excuses they can concoct to shirk responsibility for their actions.

Hence, Michael Hari wasn’t really as guilty of bombing that mosque because you see, he was really she — Emily Claire — who was trapped in “Michael’s body” all along, and didn’t come out until “he” was convicted of a crime that has “him-her” potentially acing life in prison. Very confusing [sarc].

And what a complete crock of crap.

Hari’s defense attorney, Shannon Elkins, wrote in court documents — as transcribed by the Star Tribune:

“She strongly desired making a full transition but knew she would be ostracized from everyone and everything she knew.

“Thus, as she formed a ragtag group of freedom fighters [Wait — “freedom fighters”? Freedom for whom?] or militiamen, and spoke of missions to Cuba and Venezuela, Ms. Hari secretly looked up ‘sex change,’ ‘transgender surgery,’ and ‘post-op transgender’ on the Internet.

“As she purchased military fatigues for their ‘missions’ she also purchased dresses and female clothing for a planned trip to Bangkok, Thailand, for male-to-female surgery. She was living a double life.”

Did I mention this is a complete crock of crap? Using “all of the above” to minimize Hari’s responsibility for the bombing? Yeah — I’m pretty sure I did.

But the ‘Right-Wing’ Blogs? 

Hari, who continues to deny his guilt, also blames “right-wing blogs” and news outlets for his radicalization against Muslims. According to the Star Tribune, Elkins said at the time of the attack that Hari was influenced by misinformation and conspiracies published by “right-wing blogs” like Breitbart, World Net Daily, and Jihad Watch, and “amplified by unnamed elected officials, according to court documents.”

The attorney wrote:

“This degrading, anti-Muslim, and Islamophobic rhetoric and misinformation has spread throughout the United States over the past several years through social media and the internet.”

Hmm. OK, so I’ve read at least two of the three “right-wing blogs,” in addition to reading or listening to at least as many “elected officials” as did Hari. Yet, I’ve never had the itch to bomb a religious institution — or any other building. Call me “weird.” “Weird,” as in normal, I mean.

As noted by the Star Tribune, while no one was killed or hurt in the bombing, the community was “traumatized by the violence,” and Hari was convicted of using a destructive device in a crime of violence and damaging property because of its religious character, among other charges.”

And being the crafty “devil” she is, Elkins also played the age card, asking the judge to consider a 30-year sentence, based on Hari’s “advanced age” (Hari is 50 years old) — vs. a life sentence.

And last but not least, Elkins played the “humanizing” card, attempting to rationalize a lesser sentence.

“Emily Hari is more than a one-note caricature. She is a complex human being who has been convicted by a jury of her peers.

“She will stand before this Court for sentencing, facing life in prison.

“She asks the Court to consider a sentence that is just and proportionate rather than vindictive or symbolic.”

Hari will be sentenced on September 13, which falls on a Monday, this year.

Too bad it’s not a Friday the 13th so Elkins could try to use that to suggest Hari, through no fault of “her” own, is simply a victim of bad luck.

In a recent related article titled, Out of ‘Respect’ for Humanity, Woke Sheriff Has New Names for Inmates, I reported on Wisconsin’s Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett and his decision to “make a change in philosophy” and stop calling inmates, inmates — announcing that inmates incarcerated in the Dane County jail will now be described as “residents” or “those in our care.” It gets worse — check it out.