The Turner-Chan War: Cause of Conflict

As you may or may not know, Hal Turner's radio show was brought to a financial stand-still by DoS attackers. More information can be found here.

Because the events of the past week have transpired so quickly, the intentions of Anonymous have been misconstrued. Turner believes he is under attack because of his personal opinions, and that we are infringing on his right to free speech. He repeatedly uses this stance to appeal to his fans, and ultimately to supplement his budget.

I'm all for the freedom of speech. If Turner wants to be racist, he has every right to be. To speak one's mind without fear of retribution is a part of the foundation and spirit of America. However, when one's words begin to infringe on the rights of others (such as the advocacy of imminent violence) speech is no longer protected.

While some users may be motivated by Turner's racism, it is not the primary reason for the attacks. It began "for the lulz"--for laughs--during the December 20th broadcast which resulted in a number of prank phone calls (although interestingly enough, it has been stated the prank calls were to shed negative light on Turner for failing to help the white movement).

The laughter turned to anger when the contact information of some of the callers was posted on Turner's website. Browsing through the comments made on the December 20th show, it becomes clear that Turner was urged to post this information, often with claims of violent response. Sadly, all of the comments have been deleted, but if anyone has screen shots—please, let me know.

Turner knew what kind of audience he was releasing the information to. In fact, Turner openly admits the use of a "personal army" to carry out his threats. An example audio clip can be found here (NSFW).

Turner has an extensive history of threats, many of which leading to violence against a highlighted target. For example, Turner wrote the following:

"Let me just take this opportunity to remind U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton, that I, me, Hal Turner, uttered on this radio show that a ruling that had been made by a different Federal Judge, Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow, in Chicago...I uttered that her ruling made her worthy of being killed and in March of this year her family was murdered. I don't like this ruling that was issued by U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton in San Francisco, saying that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional. I hope I don't have to make a similar utterance about Judge Karlton like I made about Judge Lefkow. You people on the Federal Bench think you can't be gotten to...you *can* be gotten to."

After the death of the Lefkow’s family, Turner posted a picture of her with the headline of “Gotcha!” For more examples of his threats, visit this article.

While no direct connection can be made between Turner and the murders, it is obvious he has a level of influence in the white supremacist community. It is also clear he gave the contact information of minors to an audience who stated they were willing to commit acts of violence in his name. If this isn’t a clear and present danger, I don’t know what is.

The following is quoted from Anonymous:

--------
Federal Interstate Stalking Law

In terms of what Mr. Turner can be punished under, I cite § 2261A of TITLE 18, PART I, CHAPTER 110A:
Whoever—
(1) travels in interstate or foreign commerce or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or enters or leaves Indian country, with the intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate another person, and in the course of, or as a result of, such travel places that person in reasonable fear of the death of, or serious bodily injury to, that person, a member of the immediate family (as defined in section 115) of that person, or the spouse or intimate partner of that person; or
(2) with the intent—
(A) to kill or injure a person in another State or tribal jurisdiction or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States; or
(B) to place a person in another State or tribal jurisdiction, or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, in reasonable fear of the death of, or serious bodily injury to—
(i) that person;
(ii) a member of the immediate family (as defined in section 115) of that person; or
(iii) a spouse or intimate partner of that person,
uses the mail or any facility of interstate or foreign commerce to engage in a course of conduct that places that person in reasonable fear of the death of, or serious bodily injury to, any of the persons described in clauses (i) through (iii),
shall be punished as provided in section 2261 (b).

Those that threatened Mr. Turner are also subject to the same law; however, from my recollections, the callers stated that his wife and son would be "raped by a band of black men and Hispanics" and could easily be dismissed in court if the defendants can prove that they have no association with such individuals. If on the other hand the callers explicitly stated that they would be performing the aforementioned action of rape, then they would be facing similar punishments. However, given that Mr. Turner is not well received by many in the legal community, and given the age of the perpetrators, I imagine their sentence would be far less than his.

Beyond this, Mr. Turner can also be charged under § 876 TITLE 18, PART I, CHAPTER 41 for mailing threatening communications, § 1461 TITLE 18, PART I, CHAPTER 71 for mailing obscene or crime-inciting matter, § 1470 TITLE 18, PART I, CHAPTER 71 for the transfer of obscene material to minors, and finally § 241 TITLE 18, PART I, CHAPTER 13 for conspiracy against rights.
--------

He states he cannot be touched by law enforcement officials because the physical threats to the minors have not been carried out. Aside from a faked incident of attack on a prankster (found here), no one has been physically injured. Personally, I believe it is inappropriate to wait for an incident to occur. Turner’s past threats, combined with the stated intentions of harming the minors by his supporters, it is easy to comprehend the possibility of violence as a result of Turner's actions. This is the intention of attacks, and the cause of the Turner-Chan War. Not because we care about what he has to say.