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In fact the Bureau boasted that it had enough Klansmen on its payroll in North Carolina to elect that state's Grand Dragon: At one point, 7 of the 8 members of a Charlotte Klan chapter reportedly were FBI assets informing on the klavern's sole non-federal employee.

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Mistrial in Case of Hate Blogger Charged With Judge Threats

A federal judge declared a mistrial Monday in the case of a notorious New Jersey hate blogger charged in June with threatening to kill judges.

According to court documents, after a three-judge panel of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit of Appeals upheld a Chicago handgun ban in June, Hal Turner blogged at turnerradionetwork.blogspot.com that the judges should be “killed.”

“Let me be the first to say this plainly: These judges deserve to be killed. Their blood will replenish the tree of liberty. A small price to pay to assure freedom for millions,” the 47-year-old blogger wrote.

A day later he posted addresses, photos, maps and other identifying information about Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook and Judges Richard Posner and William Bauer, the authorities said.

The mistrial was declared after jurors, deliberating their second day, said they were hopelessly deadlocked. A retrial was set for March 1.

Turner, who claimed he was an FBI informant paid to disseminate right-wing rhetoric, maintained at his trial last week that his speech was protected by the First Amendment.

The Associated Press reported that the sole juror in the case to speak to reporters said panelists had voted 9 to 3 to acquit, saying jurors believed the government’s case was weak.

State charges are also pending in Hartford, Connecticut, where Turner is accused of inciting readers to “take up arms” against state lawmakers.

www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/12/hate-blogger-mistrial/

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