NEWARK, N.J. — He has called for the deaths of federal judges, applauded the murder of a doctor who performed abortions and advocated the “violent overthrow” of the U.S. government, cloaking his comments in the mantle of free speech.
But North Bergen, N.J., blogger and Internet radio host Harold “Hal” Turner apparently went too far this week when he took on the state of Connecticut.
Turner, whose views have been labeled racist, anti-Semitic and anti-government, was arrested on a warrant obtained by Connecticut’s Capitol Police Department on Wednesday (June 3) after he urged readers to “take up arms” against two lawmakers and a member of the state ethics office.
Taken into custody at North Bergen police headquarters, Turner, 47, was later transferred to the Hudson County Correctional Center in Kearny, where he remains pending extradition to the Constitution State. No bail has been set.
Turner’s lawyer, Michael Orozco, said yesterday his client will fight extradition, a process that could take a month or longer. Orozco declined further comment.
In a commentary posted on his website Tuesday, Turner railed against Connecticut state Rep. Michael Lawlor and state Sen. Andrew McDonald for their support of a controversial bill that would have given lay people more power over governance of Roman Catholic churches. Amid an outcry, the bill was withdrawn in March.
Turner also singled out Thomas Jones, a state ethics official, for launching an investigation into whether Catholic Church leaders violated state lobbying guidelines in connection with their campaign against the measure.
“It is our intent to foment direct action against these individuals personally,” Turner wrote. “These beastly government officials should be made an example of as a warning to others in government: Obey the Constitution or die.”
In the next paragraph, Turner added: “If any state attorney, police department or court thinks they’re going to get uppity with us about this, I suspect we have enough bullets to put them down, too.”
He wrote that he planned to release the home addresses of the three officials during his next Internet radio broadcast. Turner was arrested before the broadcast took place. In a statement, Capitol Police Chief Michael Fallon said Turner’s comments amount to a clear threat.
“Mr. Turner’s comments are above and beyond the threshold of free speech,” Fallon said. “He is inciting others through his website to commit acts of violence and has created fear and alarm. He should be held accountable for his conduct.”
Turner was charged with inciting injury to persons or property, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, with a minimum one-year sentence.
Provocative and confrontational, Turner has routinely placed the home addresses of his targets on his website, along with maps to show the way. A day before his arrest, he singled out three federal appellate judges who had upheld a ban on handguns in Chicago.
“Let me be the first to say this plainly,” Turner wrote. “These judges deserve to be killed.”
(Mark Mueller writes for the Newark Star-Ledger.)
