A Seattle man has been charged with a hate crime for allegedly threatening to burn down the bedroom of an Autistic 13-year-old boy. Mark Joe Levison is being held without bail after failing to appear in court for previous charges. He has been charged with Malicious Harrassment under Washington state's hate crimes law.
According to Acquinnette Engen, she was sitting outside after putting her three children to bed when Levison began yelling and mimicking her Autistic son, Anthony, from across the street. She says he had previously screamed at Anthony for climbing a tree.
Engen says she recalls Levison telling her, "Keep your... son in the house or the backyard like a dog. If you don't, I'll burn the [child's bedroom] down."
Frightened, Acquinnette called police. According to court documents, Levison told the responding officers that, "I pay $1,000.00 a month rent and shouldn't have to see that idiot spinning around and staring at my yard."
Levison's insults place him in semi-famous company: Michael Savage recently called Autistic children "morons, putzes, brats," and more on his conservative talk radio show. However, as noted in the Register-Guard, Savage's remarks caused little public outcry, particularly when compared to inflammatory remarks by Savage and other talk show hosts targeting racial groups or the gay community.
