HAL TURNER FIRES PUBLIC DEFENDER; WILL DEFEND HIMSELF IN CT. TRIAL

On Thursday, Hal Turner will be on trial in Connecticut for threatening three legislators there. He is already in jail for almost three years for threatening federal judges in Chicago. It doesn’t look like he will see the outside anytime soon if he is deciding on firing his public defender and represent himself, but hey, that’s what he wants to do, that’s what he wants to do. Who are we to prevent a bonehead from throwing their life away? Our only wish is that we could be there, but we will be too busy moving on.

NJ.com

Controversial North Bergen blogger and Internet radio host Hal Turner has fired his public defender and will represent himself against charges he threatened three Connecticut legislators, the Hartford Courant reported.

Turner, 49, was charged on June 3, 2009, with inciting injury to persons or property after he posted material on his website criticizing legislation that would shift some control of Roman Catholic Church affairs from the church to lay members.

Turner told Judge Carl J. Schuman that he disagreed with public defender John Stawicki on trial strategy, the newspaper reported. Stawicki will remain as stand-by counsel.

Turner, who at one time worked covertly for the FBI in helping root out domestic extremists, is accused of threatening state Rep. Michael Lawlor, state Sen. Andrew McDonald and Thomas Jones, of the State Ethics Office.

Lawlor and McDonald, who are no longer legislators but work in the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, and Jones are expected to testify at Turner’s trial, the Courant reported.

Turner is currently serving a neary three-year sentence for threatening three state appellate judges in Chicago who upheld a gun ban.

The trial is expected to start Sept. 15.