White Supremacist Is Held in Ordering Judge's Death

New York Times ^ | 1/08/03 | JODI WILGOREN

[kattracks]

HICAGO, Jan. 8 — A white supremacist was arrested this afternoon on charges that he had solicited someone to kill a federal judge presiding over a copyright case regarding the name of his organization, the World Church of the Creator.

The man, Matthew Hale, 31, who calls himself the church's supreme leader and Pontifex Maximus, was taken into custody at the federal building in downtown Chicago as he headed to a conference on the copyright case in the courtroom of Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow of Federal District Court. The arrest came shortly after Mr. Hale denounced Judge Lefkow in a news conference, saying she was biased against him because she was married to a Jewish man and had grandchildren who were biracial.

Law enforcement officials with Chicago's Joint Terrorism Task Force said Mr. Hale had crossed the line when he asked another person to "forcibly assault and murder" Judge Lefkow.

"Certainly freedom of speech and freedom of religion are important in our society here in America," Thomas J. Kneir of the F.B.I. told reporters in announcing Mr. Hale's indictment. "But the threat of physical violence will not be tolerated."

Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney here, added, "Freedom of speech does not include the freedom to solicit murder."

About a dozen World Church of the Creator members stood when Mr. Hale entered a federal courtroom this afternoon for his arraignment, several of them raising their right hands in what they called a Roman salute but is more commonly known as a Nazi salute. Mr. Hale pleaded not guilty to the solicitation and obstruction of justice charges and will remain in custody until a detention hearing on Monday afternoon.

"This is totally bogus — it's in our Constitutional rights to believe in a religion," said Shawn Powers, 21, a member of Mr. Hale's movement. "We are a bona fide religion, and they are trying to take that away from us. Matt Hale is not a violent man, he doesn't advocate violence."

The arrest revived memories of the Fourth of July weekend in 1999, when one of Mr. Hale's followers, Benjamin Smith, went on a three-day rampage in Illinois and Indiana, killing two men, one black and one Korean, and injuring nine other Jews, Asians and African-Americans before committing suicide.

Those who monitor white supremacist and other hate groups said Mr. Hale had been brilliant in using the Internet to recruit young members, luring them through a network of 30 Web sites featuring compelling graphics and interactive games. His church, "dedicated to the survival, expansion and advancement of the white race," claims 70,000 members in 49 states and 28 countries, though some experts say the movement has just a few hundred adherents.

"Matt Hale has been allowed with impunity to engage in terrorist-like activity for four years now," Richard S. Hirschhaut, director of the Anti-Defamation League's Midwest office, said today. "He has had blood on his hands for more than four years. He is now where he should be."

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization based in Los Angeles, said in a statement that Mr. Hale's arrest "could remove the most dangerous American racist of his generation."

Mr. Hale's path crossed Judge Lefkow's after an Oregon organization known as the TE-TA-MA Truth Foundation filed a lawsuit to block Mr. Hale from using the term "Church of the Creator," which it had registered as a trademark. Judge Lefkow originally ruled in favor of Mr. Hale but was overturned on appeal, and in November she ordered his group to stop using the name on the Internet and to destroy any printed materials including it.

Mr. Hale later sued Judge Lefkow, 59, who was appointed to the district court by President Bill Clinton in 2000, claiming her order violated the Constitution by requiring the destruction of the group's bibles.

"If federal judges are to sit in judgment of the people, the people must be able to sit in judgment of them," he said at the time. On various Web sites, Mr. Hale has urged followers to picket Judge Lefkow's church, and has referred to her as "a white woman married to a Jew with three mixed grandchildren."

Glenn Greenwald, a lawyer for Mr. Hale, said the charges filed today might stem from a misinterpretation of a statement by his client on the Internet that "we are in a state of war with Judge Lefkow."

"They are probably trying to take things he said along the lines of political advocacy and turn it into a crime," Mr. Greenwald said. "The F.B.I. may have interpreted this protected speech as a threat against a federal judge, but it's probably nothing more than some heated rhetoric."

Mr. Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, would not provide details about Mr. Hale's case, including whom he had solicited for the murder, whether money was involved, how officials discovered the plot or whether Judge Lefkow was in danger.

[dighton]

"This is totally bogus — it's in our Constitutional rights to believe in a religion," said Shawn Powers, 21, a member of Mr. Hale's movement.

Solicit a judge's murder, dude, and you are like totally *****d.

[fight_truth_decay]

Hale was scheduled to speak at a rally in Lewiston, Maine, on Saturday to call for the expulsion of Somali residents from the city.

[fight_truth_decay]

He's charged with soliciting the murder of a federal judge between Nov. 29-Dec. 17.

[ItsJeff]

Matt Hale (WCOTC) has a law degree and knows how to play the media in his favor.

Huh??? Any lawyer knows that judges are immune from lawsuits. And when has Matt Hale ever received favorable media attention?

[fight_truth_decay]

Police outline restrictions for Lewiston rally
Wednesday,January8,2003,12:11 PM
WMTW Staff
870/1470 AM and 106.7 FM

LEWISTON -- Lewiston Police Chief Bill Welch said police will search people at random during Saturday's pro-diversity rally at Bates College.

Thousands are expected to turn out at that event, a counter-protest to the white supremacists' meeting planned across town. Story:http://www.wmtw.com/Global/story.asp?S=1075173

[tracer]

"Law enforcement officials with Chicago's Joint Terrorism Task Force said Mr. Hale had crossed the line when he asked another person to "forcibly assault and murder" Judge Lefkow."

Perhaps he would not be in the jam he is in had he left out the word "forcibly".....

[tracer]

"Mr. Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, would not provide details about Mr. Hale's case, including whom he had solicited for the murder, whether money was involved, how officials discovered the plot or whether Judge Lefkow was in danger."

Details, details. Picky, picky, picky.....

[spetznaz]

I do not know about him wanting to kill a judge .....however the dude is still connected to an actual killing that happened in the late nineties when a member of his church became a 'lone wolf' and killed several minorities in random shootings (an eclectic mix of asians and blacks). Prosecutors tried to show how Hale had used the gunman as a vessel to commit violence without putting himself in direct jeopardy (and also how he had done the same in the past ....although then it had been beatings not cold blooded murder).

In essence he was using his law degree was simply employed to ensure that he kept himself from legal woes (eg using a lone wolf essentially allows him to say that the gunman performed the acts out of his own volition) ...however i guess in this particular case he did not cover his behind sufficiently.

Dude needs to fry!

[Bella_Bru]

And when has Matt Hale ever received favorable media attention?

When has he ever deserved it?

[ItsJeff]

Never. I should have made that clear, because it does look like my post was sympathetic to that clymer.

[CARepubGal]

Agree! Although Joliet is too good for this POS.

[ItsJeff]

With the same logic, should the Pope be punished for the actions of the molesting Catholic priests

The difference is that Pope isn't preaching that priests should be molesters. Hale "preaches" racial hatred, then is shocked - SHOCKED - when one of his followers goes out and kills minorities.

[spetznaz]

True, people are responsible for their own actions and not those of others.

However the gunman was a member of Hale's 'church' and had been thoroughly indoctrinated by Hale (and there is nothing wrong with that) ....however the issue crops up when you consider that (this came from the court trials) the dude went to hale with his plan, and Hale allegedly encouraged him to go along with it ....with one condition. Just before he did it he was supposed to sign a document saying he had withdrawn himself from the World Church of the Creator ('church' used with a certain measure of jest apparently).

I doubt the pope (at least since in the recent centuries since the Spanish Inquisition) has ever told Catholics to kill Muslims, but to make sure before they do that they sign some documents saying any acts they take from then on are of their own free will! I am no fan of the pope, but he definitely does nto do anything like that!

Basically Hale is just some poor sad sot s.o.b who takes out his frustration on others (and gathers around him weak minded oafs with sentiments like his) ....and that is ok since it is perfectly legal to spend your life ranting and raving (and anyways most Americans consider people like Hale to be nothing more than a vestigial remnant and bottom layer of society's dregs).

However when he started telling his 'flock' to beat up asians, jews and blacks (as long as they 'sign out' of his, cough cough, 'church') and then even went as far as leading to the death of several people ....and furthermore he feels he can take on a judge .....well, i still maintain that the dude needs to fry!

I am sorry if that does not argur well with you, but that is beyond my grasp.

And as for your analogy (should the Pope be punished for the actions of the molesting Catholic priests ) i think that is apples and oranges! The pope never told the priests to go ahead and molest kids ....as long as they signed documents saying they are no longer acting on behalf of the church! If the pope did such a thing then he would also be liable .....just as Hale is liable for using weak-minded oafs to kill people.

And even if you do nto think what he did in the 90s is wrong, what he did by trying to kill the judge is still a crime, and i do not think you can be able to explain that one away.

Oh wait ....you actually did try to 'explain' even that! I believe your exact words were: I'm against White Supremacy, but I have a feeling that this charge of "plotting to kill the judge" is probably untrue. Matt Hale (WCOTC) has a law degree and knows how to play the media in his favor. The original charge was about a copyright violation of "Church of the Creator," but the government wants to hold him as long as they can. The court ordered him to burn the religious BIBLES produced by the WCOTC, obviously Unconstitutional, and Matt Hale refused. I'm afraid that people will believe this story blindly because they hate him so much.

Wow, if only the Mafia,Triads and the myriads of inner-city gangs could also get law degrees! With law degrees they might also be able to beat murder suits!

[ItsJeff]

Swell. Just what Free Republic needs. A Matt Hale apologist.