Translation

.يولد جميع الناس أحرارا متساوين في الكرامة والحقوق. وقد وهبوا عقلا وضميرا وعليهم أن يعامل بعضهم بعضا بروح الإخاء‎
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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Blogger arrested in threats on federal judges

Hal Turner, an occasional talk show host on internet radio and blogger, was arrested today by the FBI in his New Jersey home on charges he threatened to murder three federal appeals court judges in Chicago following their recent ruling upholding handgun bans.

According to the U.S. attorney's office, postings on Turner's web site included photos of the judges and addresses for them, with statements such as: "Let me be the first to say this plainly; These judges deserve to be killed."

The three judges have long served on the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals: Frank Easterbrook, the current chief judge; and Richard Posner and William Bauer.
Turner, 47, was charged with threatening to assault and murder the three judges with intent to retaliate against them for performing their official duties. He is to appear in court tomorrow in U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J., but the charges were brought in Chicago, where the judges work.

Turner, known for his white supremacist views, has been on the radar of federal authorities before. In the wake of the murder of the husband and mother of U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow in 2005, Turner's web site carried the courthouse addresses of appeals court judges who had ruled against white supremacist Matthew Hale in a civil case.

Comments

quercus on June 24, 2009 5:18 PM
Alright!! Now if they can just make this stick and put him away, far far away.
And while they are at it, How about a media person who calls a doctor who runs a clinic where among many other services, abortions are performed, "Tiller the Killer". over and over on his program? When the doctor is killed by an anti abortion nut is the provacative commentator at fault?
And by the way, this is exactly what Rush did on his show over 20 some times. And he feels no remorse at all about the murder.

The Capitalist on June 24, 2009 5:28 PM
That's why Rush is a conservative: he feels no remorse for anything he does. He could probably kill a schoolbus full of orphans by running them off the road while driving under the influence of whatever painkiller he's abusing today, and feel no remorse for that, also.

mike on June 24, 2009 5:32 PM
Yeah, and how about the tens of thousands of leftists and kooks from sites like moveon.org and the dailykos who spewed vile hatred at conservatives and Bush for eight years? Oh, that's right, this sort of crime can only be committed by conservatives.
Turner sounds like a moron, but there better be more evidence than what was quoted in the story. If the threshold for arresting someone is them saying someone deserves to be killed, than as stupid a comment as that is, it's a very low threshold indeed.
There must be more than the story reports, or the Thought Police will be knocking on a lot of doors.

Jefferson on June 24, 2009 5:36 PM

The U.S. Attorney's office has offically reached a new low.

david wayne osedach on June 24, 2009 5:41 PM
How stupid can you get? You don't getting away with threatening to murder nyone on the internet.

James Sullivan on June 24, 2009 5:44 PM

We don't need to go to foreign countries to look for terrorists. We have plenty of terrorists right here at home: the FBI, CIA, MS13, Crips, Bloods the list goes on.
The feds will probably waste millions prosecuting this guy for saying what most of us think. And what Tom DeLay said out loud. Funny, I don't remember Tom DeLay being prosecuted for suggesting that "something be done about activist judges".

@quercus on June 24, 2009 5:45 PM

You're an idiot! Bill O'Reilly didn't name him "Tiller the Baby Killer." If you were an educated person, you'd know that title was given to him by others. The fact that O'Reilly USED his given title to describe the man is neither wrong nor incitement. But you wouldn't understand this because you don't really care about the FACTS do you.

David Ben-Ariel on June 24, 2009 5:49 PM
I seriously doubt the man was making any threats, merely stating his strong opinion about the degenerate condition we find our country in, exercising his freedom of speech. I realize that the Soetoro/Obama regime has created a climate of hate for the Constitution, but what's left of it and our beloved Republic must be upheld, so help us God.

Kathy on June 24, 2009 5:54 PM

Bill G. Are you from Chicago? Do you remember that Judge Joan's Lefkow's family was murdered? I am exstatic that a blogger has been arrested for statement like that. Especially against our judges. Intimidation of our judges is against the law.

cpfoutz on June 24, 2009 5:55 PM

to the person commenting about a fox news commentator...since turnabout is fair play, should we also imprison/silence those who called our President and Vice President killers, Hitler, war criminals (and those were the nice phrases)????
one of the basic tenants of our country is freedom of speech.

David on June 24, 2009 6:06 PM

That is not a threat, "These judges deserve to be killed". If that is a threat, then regardless of your view of him, beware of your right to free speech. I have never heard of the guy, so don't know what views he advances. Now, if he was inciting murder, then that may be a threat.

W. Roger on June 24, 2009 6:15 PM

"These judges deserve to be killed," is not a threat? "He's just stating an opinion." That could only be the view of a right wing (fascist) gun nut. Our country has a lot to fear from you people.

yoyo on June 24, 2009 6:16 PM

This is wonderful, now if they can keep him locked up without inciting his mouthbreathing knuckle dragging fans THAT would be an achievement!
Joe C in Exeter, RI on June 24, 2009 6:23 PM
How is that a threat? Any man or gentleman in a civilized society would never use language like that. A barbarian would say it, and it would indeed be a threat.

carol loven on June 24, 2009 6:25 PM

I would like to call attention to the cartoon "Mallard Fillmore" from 6-23 and 6-24 - 23 reads"in other news, the mainstream media continue to blame the killing of late-term abortion doctor on talk show host Bill O'Reilly...in stark contravention of the strict media policy ...of placing blame entirely on the handgun used in the shooting."
From 6-24...."late term abortion fans continue to blame Bill O'Reilly for bad stuff he never did...and those actually responsible for doing bad stuff continue to blame "society"
My I remind readers, much truth is spoken in jest.

Hater on June 24, 2009 6:37 PM

Maybe he should have said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

bg on June 24, 2009 6:57 PM

Standing alone, suggesting that these judges "should be killed" might not be a threat. But MSNBC reports: "He included their pictures, phone numbers, work address and room numbers along with a photo of the courthouse in which they work and a map of its location." Suggesting they should be killed and then providing critical information a person would need to carry out the killing sounds like a threat to me.
The irony of all this is that the decision these judges made was about as conservative as it gets. They didn't rule that gun bans were "legal" in any ultimate sense. They ruled simply that the Supreme Court long ago said the Second Amendment doesn't apply to the states, and that the courts of appeals have no choice but to obey what the Supreme Court said. If the Second Amendment is going to apply to the states, the Supreme Court will have to say so, not an intermediate federal appellate court.

Bob Pomeroy on June 24, 2009 7:04 PM

Additionally, this inflammatory stuff is in fact commercial speech, being made in the context of ratings and in service of grossly inflating the speakers income.

JRPTOO on June 24, 2009 7:11 PM

I am pro-gun and very familiar with this court case. Despite the fact I do not feel Chicago's laws are constitutional I believe the judges made a reasonable ruling. They are conservative judges that made a non-activist decision that they do not have the power to overrule a supreme court decision. Only the Supreme Court can do so. That is a long-standing principle at the core of our system of jurisprudence.
Also, the judges did the pro-gun lobby a big favor by ruling rapidly (1 week is almost unheard of) so it can be quickly appealed to the Supreme Court.
We want this case to go all the way up, so the resulting ruling applies nationwide, not just in the seventh circuit.

CZ on June 24, 2009 7:19 PM
How is this not a threat? how is this not a threat??
"Turner listed names, photos, phone numbers, work addresses and room numbers of the three judges.
A photo of the building where the judges have offices Turner posted on his Web site included circles and arrows marking "anti-truck bomb barriers."
Again: how was he not making a threat????
This is not a joke.

Matt on June 24, 2009 7:20 PM
"How is that a threat???
It sounds like he's just stating an opinion to me."
News flash: opinions can also be threats.

Dmobile215 on June 24, 2009 7:36 PM

Well I can say I do not agree with everything the law does but doing something like this to anyone he kinda deserves to be dealt with for doing something that stupid freedom of speech is a choice but to put someones address and say a threat this is a little bit much. There is no need for dumb stuff like this people abuse the internet. This is just one case of it. Giving out someones personal information is bad news.
Those judges have to be aware that people are not giving in to incarceration as they used to most would justice will be held on the street. I have been arrested for something I did not do and I can relate those judges never sat in jail and got feed that horrible meals you have to eat and taking there freedom away when they get caught breaking the law. Arresting someone is not always the answer. But sometimes it helps I just can say he was out of control and now maybe this will make him shut up a little and let him realize freedom is a gift and if you do not value it then the wolves are going to take it away.
May he will consider a new career because FEDs can trace IPA address's and there are a number of ways they can track you down its not hard to find people but this was a unless and not thinking day for this man.
Good luck Hal because you made this matter now deal with it.

Pearl on June 24, 2009 8:00 PM

First Amendment versus Second Amendment? huh???

Noah on June 24, 2009 8:04 PM

"Those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history." - Barack Obama
AndyFromOkee on June 24, 2009 8:24 PM
Speachless

Don on June 24, 2009 9:15 PM

If we ever make stupidity a crime most of the people posting here will be criminals. Be careful what you ask for because you may get it, and the next time it could be used against you.

kc on June 24, 2009 9:20 PM
Great, just look at all the morons that are so brain dead that they are all on board with a guy going to jail for an opinion. Sure, it's a pretty radical opinion but nothing more radical than the folks at moveon or the daily kos. This is a dangerous road to go down.

Federal employee on June 24, 2009 9:36 PM

As someone who works in the same building as these three judges, I'm very happy that this guy was arrested. He posted info about the federal building, including where the "anti-truck bomb barriers" were located. Sounds like he wanted someone to blow up the entire building...with me in it! The Dirksen building has hundreds of employees in there. Including the public, thousands of people, including jurors, are in that building at any one time.

Fergie on June 24, 2009 10:06 PM

Turner made an opinion against who he considers tyrannical Judges...I think the Feds are going to try to break Turner financially by tying him up in court...The Feds have unlimited tax payer money to spend...

Gonzo on June 24, 2009 10:24 PM
With guns in the hands of meatballs like Hal Turner, it sort of makes you want to ban guns, now doesn't it? And because of gun mayhem from Columbine to our recent stupidity at the Holocaust Museum, all threats have to be taken seriously. Sow the wind. Reap the whirlwind. Discuss.

jsd58 on June 24, 2009 11:07 PM

Its scarey to see how many posters agree with this wacko's warped views.
Giving out these judges address' and inciting violence against them is nothing less the terrorism in my eyes.

Nick A on June 24, 2009 11:12 PM
All you wingnuts out there...please understand the Constitution when you invoke it. The first amendment and the guarantee of free speech is not an absolute guarantee.

Look to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in Schenck vs. United States who said "The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic"

There are limits to speech, and saying a judge should be killed and providing pictures and addresses in the same post are certainly outside those limits. If you can't understand that, then clearly you have lost all sensibility and claim of upholding American values is patently false.

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