In a trial that will most likely sully the good name of bloggers everywhere, three judges testified against right-wing blogger Harold "Hal" C. Turner for threatening to kill them for upholding a handgun ban in Chicago. Turner wrote in June that Judges Richard A. Posner, William J. Bauer and Frank H. Easterbrook "deserve to be killed" and “If they are allowed to get away with this by surviving, other judges will act the same way." The first trial last December ended with a deadlocked jury, claiming they didn't have enough evidence against Turner. However, the judges didn't testify at that trial.
The Times reports that Turner's defense lawyers were quite aggressive, asking the judges why they hadn't requested security details if they actually feared for their lives. One lawyer even attempted to argue the merits of the gun rights case, asking "If it’s overturned doesn’t that make Hal Turner correct?” Judge Easterbrook responded “This blog post says any judge who decides a case incorrectly is supposed to be assassinated. That is not the way the system works.”
Hal Turner claims he was working undercover for the FBI, and that they trained him to make threats on his blog, though according to one report his ties with the FBI had been severed on multiple occasions. Turner has a history of incendiary remarks, including threatening then-candidate Barack Obama by saying "I'm starting to come to the realization that it may be up to a sole person, acting alone, to make certain this guy is never allowed to hold the most powerful office in the world." The trial is being held at the United States District Court in Brooklyn so Turner won't face trial in the building where the three judges work.
