Brooklyn jury takes less than 2 hours to convict NorthBergen hate blogger Hal Turner of threatening 3federal judges in Internet posting

BROOKLYN - North Bergen blogger and Internet shock jock Harold "Hal" Turner was convicted yesterday of threatening to kill three Chicago judges in comments made in a blog post last year.

The jury of four men and eight women took less than two hours to decide Turner's fate.

This was the third time Turner stood trial on the charge, with the first two trials ending in deadlocked juries.

"We the jury unanimously find the defendant Harold Turner, as charged in the single count of the indictment, guilty," the jury foreman read in the courthouse at 3:30 yesterday afternoon. Deliberations began at 1:45 p.m.

Judge Donald Walter then ordered Turner immediately incarcerated, saying that he is considered a danger to the community.

Turner's mother, Kathy Diamond, whose eyes were already welling with tears in the front row, said "I love you" and Turner turned to her and said "I love you, too." Two marshals stood at Turner's side at the defense table. His teen son said "Love you, Dad."

Turner showed little reaction to the verdict and within minutes he was led out a side door of the courtroom. Just before that, he took off his tie and removed the wallet from his pocket and asked they be given to his family.

A sentencing date has not been set.

Assistant U.S. Prosecutor Diane MacArthur and defense attorney Peter Kircheimer refused to comment as they left the building.

Earlier in the day, after the jury received its instructions from the judge, Diamond said: "It's in the hands of God now, and we are all praying."

The threat that ultimately got Turner convicted was made in response to a ruling by the appellate court judges that upheld a handgun ban. In his blog post, Turner said that the judges "deserved to be killed."

The government saw this as a threat. Turner, who worked for the FBI for a time as an informant to ferret out the extremist groups that gravitated toward his website broadcasts and blog, contended that it was merely an opinion.

Diamond said the verdict was entirely too quick for something so important and said she was shocked her son was immediately taken into custody because he had appeared wherever and whenever he was ordered to do so.

"Why wouldn't they give him a chance to say goodbye to his family?" Diamond said as she began to cry outside the courthouse. "I couldn't even hug him."

His 16-year-old son said he was outraged and shocked by the verdict. "He didn't threaten anybody. He opined."

Several jurors who left the courthouse refused to comment.

Earlier in the day, Turner's FBI handler testified that Turner's violent rhetoric on his show and blog post was always a problem for the FBI.

Special Agent Stephen Haug said when Turner was terminated as an informant in 2006 it was "due to constantly ignoring of the admonishments to stop with the violent rhetoric."

Haug said that on the occasions when Turner asked him if his rhetoric had crossed the line of criminality, "My standard response was always the same, 'I don't have a warrant for you.'"

Haug also testified that Turner provided unique and valuable information to the FBI during his time as an informant, often related to the white supremacist community and domestic terrorism.