One of the fellows who orchestrated the 2017 bombing of Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota has had a change of, er, heart and is now requesting leniency from his presiding judge:

Emily Claire Hari — previously known as Michael Hari — is asking a judge to legally acknowledge her [sic] transgender identity. Hari, 50, says a combination of gender dysphoria and right-wing misinformation fueled her [sic] "inner conflict" during the time that she [sic] was convicted of bombing Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington.

"She [sic] strongly desired making a full transition but knew she [sic] would be ostracized from everyone and everything she [sic] knew," Hari's defense attorney, Shannon Elkins, wrote in court documents. "Thus, as she [sic] formed a ragtag group of freedom fighters or militia men and spoke of missions to Cuba and Venezuela, Ms. [sic] Hari secretly looked up 'sex change,' 'transgender surgery,' and 'post-op transgender' on the Internet. As she [sic] purchased military fatigues for their 'missions' she [sic] also purchased dresses and female clothing for a planned trip to Bangkok, Thailand, for male-to-female surgery. She [sic] was living a double life."

Hari, who once led the "White Rabbit" terrorist group, is asking the judge for the mandatory minimum 35-year sentence rather than life behind bars.

He has also requested "an amended prison placement" based on his newfound identity, which—and this is a wild guess—probably means placement in a women's prison.

The media and nonprofit groups, meanwhile, have been praised for their handling of Hari's big reveal:

That's progress!