Neo-Nazi convicted of soliciting attack on juror

CHICAGO — An avowed neo-Nazi from Virginia was convicted in federal court in Chicago Wednesday of soliciting an attack on a member of the jury that convicted white supremacist Matthew Hale.

William White had posted the juror’s name, home address and photo on his website four years after the Hale verdict.

Mark Hoffman, the juror was who targeted by White, was
seated about 15 feet away from him in the courtroom when the verdict
was announced. Hoffman threw his head back at word of guilty and
covered his face with his hands as he smiled.

In a highly unusual move, the jury had asked that
the courtroom be cleared of reporters and visitors before its verdict
was read.

The judge refused the request, with the backing of both the prosecution and defense.

White’s attorneys later contended that the request
by the jury highlighted that the government’s case was based more on
fear than on evidence.

“It’s a sad day for the First Amendment,” said Nishay Sanan, one of White’s lawyers. “They were playing on fear. What was on trial here was the white supremacy movement.”

Prosecutors said White’s posting singling the juror
out as responsible for Hale’s conviction was not protected by the First
Amendment because the words were intended to incite a follower to hurt
the juror.

“There was only one person on trial here and that was Bill White,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hogan. “And it was for his own actions. His words were his actions … I don’t care if this guy was from Mars.”

The defense argued that the prosecution failed to
prove its case because White made no specific threats against the Hale
juror when he posted personal information about him on his website in
2008.

But prosecutors pointed to White’s repeated calls
for physical attacks on others on his website. In one posting in 2004,
White called for the “assassination” of everyone connected with the
Hale trial.

“The whole context has to be considered,” Hogan
said. “For years he repeatedly urged … that people he disagreed with
be killed, lynched (or) shot.”

Prosecutors also pointed to letters White wrote
after his arrest on the solicitation charges as key evidence that
showed his intentions to harm the juror. In the letters, White asks
cohorts in the movement whether anyone had acted against Hoffman and
also urges that no one do so.

———

(c) 2011, Chicago Tribune.

Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.