Mistrial in case of Hal Turner on charges of threats against judges - Jury deadlocked 9 to 3 in favor of acquitting

While Tuner should be shunned for being a controlled-op Federal informant and agent provocateur, the positive here may very well be that the jurors wanted to acquit on freedom of speech grounds...good news for all of us speaking out against the powers-that-be, whom would love to prosecute us for "hate speech", "domestic terrorism", etc.

Internet shock jock Hal Turner blogged that three Illinois judges 'deserved to die' for upholding a local gun ban.

Mistrial in case of Internet shock jock Harold (Hal) Turner, charged with threatening to kill judges

By John Marzulli
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Monday, December 7th 2009, 2:49 PM

Jurors deadlocked Monday in the Brooklyn trial of an Internet radio shock-jock charged with threatening to kill three Illinois federal appellate judges.

A mistrial was declared after the jury deadlocked 9 to 3 in favor of acquitting Harold (Hal) Turner who was originally indicted in Illinois, where the three judges preside on the U.S. Court of Appeals.

"I did think he (Turner) was a threat," juror Richard Gardener, 58, of Long Island, told reporters outside the courtroom.

"He's a publicity seeker and he wants to be a bigger force than he was. By acquitting him, he would become bigger and stronger."

The trial was moved to Brooklyn after defense lawyers argued he could not receive a fair trial in the same Illinois courthouse where the targeted judges worked.

Enraged by their decision upholding a local ban on handguns, Turner ranted on his blog that Judges Frank Easterbrook, Richard Posner and William Bauer "deserved to die." He also posted photos of them, the courthouse and a Google map pinpointing the location of the courthouse.

"Thomas Jefferson, one of our Founding Fathers, told us, 'The tree of liberty must be replenished from time to time with the blood of tyrants and patriots.' It is time to replenish the tree," Turner said on his Web site.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hogan called Turner a "domestic terrorist" trying to incite his radical fans to violence, and rejected claims he was merely exercising his First Amendment right to be outrageous like Howard Stern and Don Imus.

Defense lawyer Nishay Sanan likened his client's comments to someone wearing a T-shirt that says, "Skateboard or Die."

The trial abruptly ended with the government calling only six federal agents and not the judges as planned.

"Evidentiary rulings shaped our trial strategy," Hogan said.

Louisiana Federal Judge Donald Walter, who was assigned the case, refused to lift a gag order on Turner and scheduled a retrial for March 1.

-http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/12/07/2009-12-07_mistrial_in_internet_shock_jock_harold_hal_turner_case_charged_with_threatening_.html#ixzz0ZDIUqyUk

More:
NY judge declares mistrial in NJ blogger trial
Mistrial in Case of Hate Blogger Charged With Judge Threats

Related:

Hal Turner admits in court to being an FBI informant; Prosecuting Attorney concurs

Hal Turner trained by the FBI as "agent provocateur" in how to "incite"; Worked with FBI from 2002 to 2007