Shocked Jock

The long, strange story of radio loudmouth Hal Turner reached the end of one crazy chapter and the beginning of a new one this week with the former shock jock turned FBI informant now facing ten years in prison for threatening three federal judges.

A US Internet radio host was convicted Friday of threatening to assault and kill three judges who upheld a ban on handguns in Chicago, the US Justice Department said.

Hal Turner, 47, was arrested in June 2009 for an Internet posting that said of the three federal judges who had upheld Chicago's handgun ban, "Let me be the first to say this plainly: These judges deserve to be killed."

His post included photos of the three men, Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook and Judges Richard Posner and William Bauer, as well as their phone numbers and work addresses.

All three judges testified during his trial, which was held in New York after Chicago judges recused themselves.

Prior to the trial, it was disclosed that Turner was a well-paid informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), pulling in over $100,000 from the government in just five years time.

And Turner's stint as an informant uncovered some really insane stuff on the domestic terror front:  plots to kill Senators,  President Obama, and other Washington figures.  Of course, Turner himself is a rabid neo-Nazi racist asshole, but he's far from the only one out there.  The feds kept him on the payroll for five years until he crossed that particular line in Chicago.

I'm betting prison's not going to be a pleasant experience for Hal.