Turner Case Ends in Mistrial

Hal Turner’s case ended in a mistrial today after a jury was unable to decide whether the hate blogger was guilty of threatening three federal judges. A new trial is set for March 1 in Brooklyn, according to The Associated Press.

The jury voted 9-3 for acquittal, according to the only juror who spoke with reporters afterward. During its deliberations Friday afternoon and Monday, the jury twice sent notes to the judge saying it was hopelessly deadlocked.

Turner was charged with threatening to assault and murder three federal charges in Chicago after he wrote on his blog that they “deserve to be killed” and posted their work addresses. Government prosecutors argued that Turner was trying to intimidate the judges with the June postings on his website for extremists. The defense argued that Turner’s statements were protected by the First Amendment and that he was betrayed by the government he’d served as an FBI informant.