US judge finds bodies in home

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Let's talk about terrorism. Meanwhile, this is from the BBC - nothing from AP or Reuters yet.

Death Plot Judge Finds Two Bodies

White supremacist Matt Hale: Awaiting sentence
A US judge who was once the target of a death plot by white supremacists has found two bodies in her home.
Joan Lefkow discovered the bodies, lying in pools of blood, as she returned from work to her Chicago home.

The victims were believed to be Mrs Lefkow's husband and mother, according to reports in the Chicago Tribune.

Last year, white supremacist leader Matthew Hale was convicted of trying to have Mrs Lefkow killed after she ruled against him in a previous case.

Chicago police refused to comment officially on the deaths, and would not speculate whether they were linked to Mrs Lefkow's previous involvement with Hale.

FBI officials were seen alongside local police officers at the scene of the discovery.

Address published

Mrs Lefkow, a US federal district court judge, was afforded police protection in 2003 after Hale, 33, was arrested on suspicion of soliciting her murder.

Hale, who founded a group named World Church of the Creator, became furious with Mrs Lefkow when she ordered him to stop using the name because of a copyright infringement.

On the basis of evidence obtained by Hale's "security chief", an FBI informant, a jury convicted Hale in July 2004 of arranging Mrs Lefkow's murder.

He is currently awaiting sentencing.

Hale was first investigated after a former member of his organisation went on a shooting spree in 1999, targeting blacks and Jews.

Two died and nine were injured. Hale was cleared of involvement.

During the plot to target Mrs Lefkow, her home address was published on a white supremacist website.

― aimurchie (aimurchie), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 20:35 (twenty years ago)

That shit is disturbing. Very.

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 20:39 (twenty years ago)

Disturbing, to put it mildly.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 20:42 (twenty years ago)

Creepy.

― Michael White (Hereward), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 20:45 (twenty years ago)

Shit, I just typed all this & lost it ...

The copyright infringement has more to it, unless I'm remembering a different hate group/ copyright infringement case .. There was a group of white supremacists who had their name taken from them by a judge as compensation to one of their victims.. So the case involving this judge may have been preventing them from using their "own" name, which would anger them, I'm sure.. Unless that was a different hate group ...? The case would have been like rubbing salt in a wound for the group, as I think their leader was jailed as well ...

Must do some googling.. ..

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 20:50 (twenty years ago)

..c an't find it - must be a different hate group. (encouraging to know that there are too many hate groups around to find the one you're looking for, innit?)

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 20:58 (twenty years ago)

I think that's this one, Dave. WCOTC had one member go on a killing spree in the late '90s, I think the name was awarded to a victim's family at the time.

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

I read about that Matthew Hale guy in an American magazine once. He was kind of funny... like a nerdy version of Hitler. He was pretty smart as well, as in he knew enough not to admit to anything illegal.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 21:25 (twenty years ago)

uh...

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 21:29 (twenty years ago)

I heard about this on cnn this morning, terrible stuff.

― teeny (teeny), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 21:44 (twenty years ago)

this is absolutely, absolutely horrible. i know people who have worked with this judge, and i used to live in the neighborhood where this happened.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 21:46 (twenty years ago)

funny to think that just a decade (?) ago, hale was considered mostly a nuisance for continually trying to hold meetings of his white-supremacist organization and for trying to recruit students at northwestern, etc. he even tried to characterize himself as merely a nuisance, not a violent person.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Tuesday, 1 March 2005 21:48 (twenty years ago)

"I read about that Matthew Hale guy in an American magazine once. He was kind of funny... like a nerdy version of Hitler. He was pretty smart as well, as in he knew enough not to admit to anything illegal."

Um, now that he is behind a double whacking do you still think he's "kind of funny."? Not that he did the whacking, but, y'know, a nerdy Hitler shouldn't taint his hands with actual blood.

The cruelty is so fucking painful. To go home and open the door to your husband and mother, murdered because of your job.
It's primitive, and it is terrorism.
The war on terrorism now has a new homefront. It's right here.
Murdering the family of someone who disagrees with you is isolated to other, radical, obscure countries - right?
Nope.
She was threatened, and put under protection.
And.. to kill...her husband...and her mother...is...beyond...comprehension...

― aimurchie (aimurchie), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 04:00 (twenty years ago)

heartbreaking

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/na/chi-0503010122mar01,1,7981368.story?coll=chi-news-hed

(http://www.bugmenot.com for user/pass)

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 04:16 (twenty years ago)

Aimurchie, obviously I read the article several years ago, before these murders. Hence the use of the past tense.

This is really extreme... I don't think I've ever heard of Mafia doing things like this.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 12:25 (twenty years ago)

Another detail that gives me the chills:
"At 4 p.m., the Lefkows' youngest daughter, Margaret, 16, went home to get her gym bag and left without seeing anyone."

― dave225 (Dave225), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 13:12 (twenty years ago)

so this is officially a trend. no news stories yet, but last night a man tried to kill a prominent judge in the midwest. in his pocket was a list marked "liberal judges." somehow the man ended up being killed -- i'm not sure how -- but this is just unbelievably frightening.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Thursday, 10 March 2005 16:04 (twenty years ago)

Though at the same time apparently the word on the Lefkow killing was that it was someone hitherto unsuspected? I seem to remember reading something about that this morning, some fellow who was angry that a ruling went against him but apparently was not a white supremacist per se.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 10 March 2005 16:12 (twenty years ago)

http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=3057986

― Leon the Fatboy (Ex Leon), Thursday, 10 March 2005 16:13 (twenty years ago)

Ah thank ya Leon.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 10 March 2005 16:15 (twenty years ago)

I was at Northwestern around the time one of Hale's proteges was circling around the area randomly shooting people -- shot and killed Northwestern's basketball coach, if I remember correctly, and then went rolling around Skokie shooting people on the way out of synagogues. For a few days I made a habit of walking against traffic so I could see the cars.

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 10 March 2005 20:50 (twenty years ago)

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