NEW YORK — A right-wing New Jersey blogger was convicted at his third trial Friday of making threats against three federal judges in Illinois in retaliation for a ruling supporting gun control.
A Brooklyn jury deliberated less than two hours before finding Hal Turner guilty of making death threats.
A judge jailed Turner, of North Bergen, N.J., following the verdict. His attorney declined comment.
Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, thanked the jurors for their service.
'There is no place in society for threatening federal judges with violence. Period,' he said in a statement. 'We are grateful that the jury saw these threats for what they were and rejected any notion that they were acceptable speech.'
Series tie-in: In the 2030s the right of Americans to keep and bear arms is settled law. Written and voiced threats are taken seriously too, as well as actions in furtherance of the threat.
Authorities said he crossed the line by writing: "Let me be the first to say this plainly: These judges must die. Their blood will replenish the tree of liberty."
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