The "but MLK" defense is becoming increasingly pathetic.

Yeah, MLK was mistreated by the government. But you can't hide behind the mistreatment of a good man to defend bad people.

It's like an criminal defendant taking the stand in his defense on charges of robbery and saying, "They put MLK in jail on trumped up charges too." Yeah, they did. And that was wrong. But you're still going to jail because, unlike MLK, you robbed a convenience store on camera.

As the saying goes, a sinner may attempt to live in the robes of a martyr, but he's still not the saint who died in them.