A social media user in the United Kingdom, who has chosen to remain anonymous, may face criminal charges if they continue criticizing an adult who dresses up as a baby when speaking to children.
The social media thread identified Richard Smith, a man who wears a baby costume, including diapers, bottles and teddy bears, when speaking to schoolchildren as the head of an autism awareness group.
Smith started making the infantilizing changes in 2021.
In response to the posts and the reaction they elicited, U.K. police warned that if the online coverage continued, “it might lead to criminal matters around harassment or malicious communications.”
Per Reduxx:
In 2019, Smith was gifted a yellow Ford Mustang by a local supercar shop in order to promote his charity. Smith claimed the car would be a way to engage with children by “giving it the look of Bumblebee from Transformers, which the kids love.”
In 2023, Smith announced he was set to drive a new supercar, though never explicitly specified if the car was fully sponsored or in-part paid for with Awesometistic charity funds.
The Lotus Emira, valued at approximately $100,000 USD, was wrapped in pink and blue with Awesometistic branding. Since acquiring the vehicle, Smith has done events in local shopping centers, showing off the car and providing information to children on autism awareness.
According to Reduxx, the thread only included publicly available information about Smith. Still, the Northumbria Police were quick to respond. Smith has consulted with the department before on handling suspects with autism.
Following the conversation with law enforcement, the anonymous social media user contacted Fair Cop, a coalition of British lawyers, police officers and miscellaneous professionals concerned about increasing law enforcement efforts regarding speech.
Fair Cop responded by drafting an open letter to Northumbria Police, urging officers to review the U.K.'s human rights laws:
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??? Really UK
Does a child need to become aware of autism? What, is this some kind of self diagnosis? Or is he preparing kids to recognize autism in their five year old pals.
Really, UK????