Harold Charles "Hal" Turner (born March 15, 1962) is an American
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
North Bergen
North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
.
Turner's viewpoints typically encompass
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements:
...
white supremacy
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White ...
, and have included calls for
assassination
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
of government officials. In August 2010, he was convicted for making threats against three federal judges with the 7th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much ...
, for which he spent two years in prison.
Turner has sporadically hosted ''The Hal Turner Show'', usually on
shortwave radio
Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 m ...
station WBCQ, since 2002, as well as a corresponding
blog
A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in Reverse ...
, which has changed
URLs
A Uniform Resource Locator (URL), colloquially termed as a web address, is a reference to a web resource that specifies its location on a computer network and a mechanism for retrieving it. A URL is a specific type of Uniform Resource Identi ...
frequently and has spread
hoax
A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...
Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Union City and from age five in Ridgefield Park, where he attended
Ridgefield Park High School
Ridgefield Park High School is a six-year comprehensive community public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grade from Ridgefield Park, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary scho ...
. Prior to working on radio, Turner worked as a driver and a salesman.
Early career
Identifying himself as "Hal from North Bergen", Turner became notable in American conservative circles as a frequent caller to and supporter of WABC radio talk show hosts Bob Grant and Sean Hannity. Turner parlayed this fame into a role as the northern New Jersey coordinator for Patrick J. Buchanan's 1992 presidential campaign.
Turner claims he established a friendship with Sean Hannity, on whose radio program he had once been a frequent presence. In 2008, while Hannity and
Malik Zulu Shabazz
Malik Zulu Shabazz (born Paris Lewis on September 7, 1966) is an American attorney. He has previously served as Chairman of the New Black Panther Party which is labeled as a hate group , he is the current National President of Black Lawyers f ...
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
's association with Jeremiah Wright, Shabazz asked Hannity if he should "be judged by (his) promotion and association with Hal Turner". Hannity began to say that he didn't know Turner, but then said he was someone he had banned from his radio program ten years before. Turner subsequently gave an account of their association on his website, in which he said of Hannity's response: "I was quite disappointed when Sean Hannity at first tried to say he didn't know me. In fact, Sean does know me and we were quite friendly a few years ago."
Phil Boyce
Phil Boyce is an American program director for Salem Communications. He had previously served in the same capacity for NewsTalkRadio WABC (AM) in New York City, as well Vice President of news/talk programming for ABC Radio and program director ...
, Program Director of WABC, disputed the account, which described a friendship developing between Turner and Hannity in 1993, three years before Hannity was actually hired at WABC.
Turner became a talk radio host, joining fellow regular callers Frank from
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
and John from
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...
to start the program ''The Right Perspective''. Turner left the program in 2002, citing artistic differences. In 2002, Turner became a solo host, purchasing a time slot on
shortwave
Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...
radio station WBCQ, over which he broadcast for approximately four years. On WBCQ on March 22, 2004, he left the show "after harshly criticizing his supporters, listeners, and WBCQ." The show lacked financial support and Turner had health problems, leading to the temporary closure of his website and show.
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
* Republican Party (Liberia)
*Republican Party ...
nomination for election to the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
from New Jersey's 13th congressional district. He received 18.6% of the vote, losing to Theresa de Leon. Turner has identified himself as the "Chairman of the Republican Party of Hudson County, NJ Corp," a group which has no connection to the official Hudson County Republican Party recognized by the state and national party. According to news reports, Hudson County Republican officials have stated that Turner's party is a "paper corporation with little or no membership".
In response to an October 7, 2005,
assault
An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cr ...
against a white student by a Black student at Kingston High School, Turner, working with the white nationalist group National Vanguard, organized a rally which he called a "rally against violence". He characterized the rally as both "pro-white" and "against violence". The victim's mother chose not to attend the rally. In response, local residents, including political and religious leaders, organized a number of "Unity Rallies" with a tolerance theme. When the rally occurred on November 19, 2005, Turner and the National Vanguard attracted approximately 50 demonstrators, compared to the 100 counter-demonstrators. Turner called for the attacker to be charged with a
hate crime
A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
, but the case resulted in the perpetrator being indicted as an adult with two
felony
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that res ...
counts:
assault
An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cr ...
and attempted assault instead.
On April 12, 2006, Turner had a physical altercation with Jaime Vazquez, a former
Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.illegal immigrants
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwa ...
are breaking the law, and people like me should break the law as well by shooting them down." In response, Vazquez picketed with a sign reading "Hal Turner — shoot me! Racists and bigots like you are cowards." This was followed by a physical confrontation, during which Vazquez suffered a back injury and a fractured wrist. Turner and Vazquez later filed criminal charges against each other. On July 16, 2006
North Bergen
North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by ...
Municipal Court Judge Joseph Romano found both men to be equally credible and thus neither criminally liable.
Broadcasting and website issues
In 2002, Turner started broadcasting, but quit the show in July 2008 and resumed broadcasting it in April 2009 as the Turner Radio Network. In August 2008 his website also closed. Although he retained a
blog
A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in Reverse ...
, it was shut down by his host,
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
In February 2009, Turner posted an article on his blog entitled: "FEDS GRANT
EMINENT DOMAIN
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
AS COLLATERAL TO
CHINA
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
FOR U.S. DEBTS!" claiming that a secret agreement had been made to allow China to physically take U.S. land, in the event of a U.S. default. The story created "hundreds of identical Internet replications" according to Snopes.
Anonymous website raid
Turner stated that in December 2006 and January 2007 individuals who identified themselves as members of the group
Anonymous
Anonymous may refer to:
* Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown
** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author
* Anony ...
took Turner's website offline, costing him thousands of dollars in bandwidth bills. On January 19, 2007, Turner sued
4chan
4chan is an anonymous English-language imageboard website. Launched by Christopher "moot" Poole in October 2003, the site hosts boards dedicated to a wide variety of topics, from anime and manga to video games, cooking, weapons, television, ...
, eBaum's World, 7chan, Abjects IRC network, and other websites for
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, ...
. On January 22, 2007, he lost his plea for an injunction. In February 2007 4chan responded to the lawsuit. In April 2007, the judge asked the parties to submit information to schedule proceedings. However, Turner failed to respond. Mail from the court to Turner was returned as "Undeliverable". The judge dismissed the case in December 2007.
FBI informant
Turner was a paid informant for the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...
(FBI) for several years, supplying information about
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...
groups to federal agents. The original allegations that Turner acted as an informant for the FBI surfaced in 2008 after unidentified hackers claimed on Turner's website's forums that they had read email correspondences between him and an FBI agent, apparently his handler. This led to a discussion on a
neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), attack ...
website on January 10, 2008, in which Turner revealed that he was quitting political work, ending his radio show and separating "from the 'pro-White' movement". The FBI has declined to comment on the matter. The
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...
and the
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
reported on the emails that "a neo-Nazi Website had posted material reportedly found by the hackers, including alleged exchanges between himself and law enforcement agents which indicated that Turner had been providing information to them."
On July 28, 2009, in a
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
courtroom, Turner's defense lawyer said that Turner worked as a paid informant for the FBI. In December 2009, ''
The Record
The Record may refer to:
Music
* ''The Record'' (album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear
* The Records, an English power pop band
* '' Their Greatest Hits: The Record'', a 2001 greatest-hits album by the pop-music group Bee G ...
'' published an investigative report on Turner's "complex" relationship with the FBI and Federal
U.S. Marshal Service
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforceme ...
, noting that all parties broke off contact at several points.
Turner's information led to the arrests of the Hutaree militia, with Turner's FBI handler serving as the prosecution's witness.
Michael A. Orozco, Turner's lawyer said, "I don't think he was a racist. He was doing a lot of those things at the behest of the FBI."
Return to radio
On October 7, 2015, Turner returned to radio for the weekly, two hour ''Hal Turner Show'', broadcast on
shortwave radio
Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 m ...
station WBCQ and over the internet. For a time in 2015, Turner promoted another broadcast over "Superstation 95," a pirate radio station in the New York City area. The show aired until February 1, 2017, and then resumed on July 5, 2017, eventually adding another shortwave affiliate,
WRMI
WRMI (Radio Miami International) is a shortwave radio station broadcasting from Okeechobee, Florida, United States. WRMI is a commercial radio station that sells airtime to businesses and organizations.
Programming
WRMI relays several internatio ...
. Turner stated at the end of March 2019 that he had run out of funds to keep the show on WBCQ and WRMI. An associated fundraising appeal was a success, and Turner expanded his broadcast to a daily show.
Turner also claims KYAH in
Delta, Utah
Delta is the largest city in Millard County, Utah, United States. It is located in the northeastern area of Millard County along the Sevier River and is surrounded by farmland. The population was 3,436 at the 2010 census.
History
Delta was o ...
as a standard AM radio affiliate. KYAH, which broadcasts at low power during Turner's show, lists the time slot in its program schedule as "TBA."
Threats against judges and political figures
Turner has a history of making threats against various public figures. In 2005, Turner publicized the names of three federal court judges who handled lawsuits involving Matt Hale, a white supremacist convicted of soliciting the murder of a federal judge. Turner posted the judges' names and addresses on his Web site.
On December 6, 2006, Turner announced on his website:
We may have to ASSASSINATE some of the people you elect on Nov. 7! This could be your LAST ELECTION CHANCE, to save this Republic ... Sorry to have to be so blunt, but the country is in mortal danger from our present government and our liberty is already near dead because of this government. If you are too stupid to turn things around with your vote, there are people out here like me who are willing to turn things around with guns, force and violence. We hope our method does not become necessary
Since the announcement was made, Turner has had difficulties finding a host for his website. He alleged that his website has been the target of
denial of service
In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) is a cyber-attack in which the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host conne ...
attacks, and subsequently filed a pro se lawsuit.
On April 4, 2008, Turner encouraged violence against
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was fir ...
school superintendent Paul Ash for establishing a new curriculum supporting homosexuals. On his website, he stated:
He went on to provide Ash's personal information, including his address. Fourteen months later, on June 2, 2009, Turner posted on his blog
Let me be the first to say this plainly: These judges deserve to be killed. Their blood will replenish the tree of liberty. A small price to pay to assure freedom for millions.
On June 3, 2009, Turner was arrested in New Jersey and charged with inciting injury to two politicians in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
and a state ethics official. The warrant issued was for inciting his website's readers to "take up arms" against the officials. Two weeks later, Turner was re-arrested on June 24, 2009, at his New Jersey home for making threats against the judges of the United States Court of Appeals in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
. When he was arrested, FBI officials seized 200 rounds of ammunition as well as three handguns and one shotgun. In the federal case, Turner was denied bail.
On June 30, 2009, the website for Turner's blog was shut down and replaced with a notice stating that the site had been taken down by Turner's family, directing interested parties to a blog for the Family of Hal Turner, with entries by his mother.
''United States v. Turner''
On July 28, 2009, in the case of ''United States v. Turner'' in Chicago, Turner pleaded not guilty to threatening to kill three federal appellate judges there and then sought his release from custody, saying he had been an informant for the FBI. The judge gave Turner ten days "to produce concrete evidence of Turner's help to the FBI or federal marshals."
On August 11, Turner was denied bail again. The judge cited the fact that Turner, from his prison cell, recorded and posted on the internet a telephone conversation that included the names of his arresting FBI agents. The judge said that Turner's act "tells me something about the disposition of Mr. Turner."
His lawyer said the defense would use "Turner's background as an FBI informant" and argue that he was "trained by the FBI" as "an
agent provocateur
An agent provocateur () is a person who commits, or who acts to entice another person to commit, an illegal or rash act or falsely implicate them in partaking in an illegal act, so as to ruin the reputation of, or entice legal action against, th ...
" to incite people.
In late October 2009 Turner was freed on $500,000 bond, and was ordered not to use a computer or any device that can access the Internet. His trial started on November 30, 2009, and ended on December 4, 2009, with the defense opting not to call any witnesses. After two hours of deliberation, the jury announced it was deadlocked. Three days later the judge declared a mistrial, and a retrial was set for March 1, 2010. This second trial, overseen by Western District of Louisiana judge Donald Walter, was moved from the
Northern District of Illinois
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois.
Appeals from the Northern District of Illinois a ...
to the Eastern District of New York: since the prosecution was to call the three judges to the stand, the defense felt that Turner would not get a fair hearing if the trial was conducted in the same city where the judges worked. A mistrial was declared on March 10.
In August 2010, his third trial began and on August 31, after three days of testimony, the jury found Turner guilty."Local shock jock sentenced to almost three years in prison", '' Year in Review: The Hudson Reporter'', December 26, 2010, page 13 On 21 December 2010, he was sentenced to 33 months in prison. Upon completion of his sentence, he was barred from participating in Internet or satellite radio programming for three years. In his sentencing memorandum, U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald made the following comment:
For years, Turner has engaged in a campaign of intimidation against public officials and private citizens alike. Even Turner's arrest in this case failed to deter him. Turner continued his tactics by using intimidation against a key witness in the government's case against him. All the while, Turner has displayed defiance and no regret for his actions. Turner remains utterly incapable of acknowledging the genuine fear experienced by his innumerable victims – that is, except when ''he'' is the victim of a perceived threat. Turner has committed a serious crime, engaged in witness intimidation, lied repeatedly under oath, and has shown no regret whatsoever.
The Jersey Journal
''The Jersey Journal'' is a daily newspaper, published from Monday through Saturday, covering news and events throughout Hudson County, New Jersey. ''The Journal'' is a sister paper to ''The Star-Ledger'' of Newark, ''The Times'' of Trenton an ...
'' saying he is one of 38 people housed in Communication Management Unit in the prison Terre Haute with terrorists, like John Walker Lindh, and fears for his life once fellow prisoners find out he was a government informant.
During his incarceration, Turner declared bankruptcy, and his wife filed for divorce.
In August 2011, Turner filed an appeal for his conviction. He claimed that the government "failed to substantiate the charge" and asked to be released pending the appeal.
''Connecticut v. Turner''
In July 2009 the Connecticut case was handed to a division of the state court that handles more serious matters. In early February 2011, Turner appeared in a Hartford court for the ''Connecticut v. Turner'' pre-trial hearing on three counts of inciting injuries to persons. The three felony counts Turner faced each carried one to 10 years in prison.
In late February 2011, the federal government reported that e-mails "show it appears Turner plans to pursue judicial and law-enforcement officials after he's released from prison." On February 2, Turner wrote "when I get out, I'm gonna go after some 'problems' and take care of them in a manner that will be horrific."
On March 25, 2011, Turner appeared in Hartford asking the court to be allowed to change his attorney, telling the judge, "I have no confidence in his ability to defend me." The judge reluctantly allowed him to change his private attorney for a public defender citing Turner's unusually bad year. On April 7, with a public defender at his side, Turner pleaded not guilty and the case will go to trial.
In July 2011, Turner's public defender asked for the case to be dismissed, saying Turner's statements were free speech and that Connecticut courts did not have jurisdiction because his threats were made in New Jersey. Prosecutor Thomas Garcia responded that Turner himself wrote that his intent behind the writing was to "foment direct action" against the lawmakers "personally."
In September 2011, Turner asked Judge Carl J. Schuman for permission to represent himself after disagreeing with his public defender, John Stawicki, about defense strategy. Judge Schuman agreed, but Stawicki remained as stand-by counsel. That same week jury selection began.
On September 16, 2011, after three hours of deliberation, Turner was found not guilty of "felony inciting injury to people and misdemeanor threatening." After hugging his family, Turner was "escorted back into custody" to continue serving his sentence in the federal case.
Turner was released from prison on October 5, 2012.Harold Charles Turner, inmate # 30057-050;