U.S. v. Hale

• Decision Date: 30 May 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05-1922.,05-1922.
• Citation: 448 F.3d 971
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Matthew HALE, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

448 F.3d 971

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Matthew HALE, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 05-1922.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Submitted March 28, 2006^*.

Decided May 30, 2006.

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David Weisman, Office of the United States Attorney, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Matthew F. Hale, United States Penitentiary Admax, Florence, CO, for Defendant-Appellant.

Before POSNER, EASTERBROOK, and EVANS, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM.

Matthew Hale was convicted after a jury trial on two counts of obstructing justice, 18 U.S.C. § 1503, and one count of soliciting a crime of violence, id. § 373, in connection with his resistance to a judgment entered against his white supremacist organization by United States District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow and his involvement in a plot to have the judge murdered. Hale was sentenced to a total of 480 months' imprisonment.

I.

Hale was the "Pontifex Maximus" of a white supremacist organization formerly known as the World Church of the Creator ("World Church"). A law school graduate, Hale was unable to procure the character and fitness certification necessary for admission to the state bar of Illinois. After he obtained no relief through the administrative appeals process, and after both the Supreme Court of Illinois and the Supreme Court of the United States denied review, Hale unsuccessfully brought constitutional challenges in federal court. See Hale v. Comm. on Character & Fitness, 335 F.3d 678 (7th Cir.2003). He later sought, and was denied, bar admission in Iowa as well.

In May 2000 the World Church was sued for trademark infringement by the TE-TA-MA Truth Foundation — Family of URI, Inc. ("the Foundation"), a religious organization that operates under the name "Church of the Creator." Both parties moved for summary judgment, which Judge Lefkow granted in favor of the World Church. On appeal, however, we reversed and remanded with instructions to enter judgment in favor of the Foundation. TE-TA-MA Truth Foundation — Family of URI, Inc. v. World Church of the Creator, 297 F.3d 662 (7th Cir.2002). Accordingly, on November 19, 2002, Judge Lefkow entered a detailed order requiring the World Church to stop using variations of the trademarked name "Church of the Creator," to turn over books and other materials bearing the name or obliterate any infringing mark from them, and relinquish custody of the domain names of the World Church's websites to the Foundation. The Foundation soon returned to court seeking enforcement of the order after Hale publicly stated that he would not comply. The court granted the Foundation's motion and ordered Hale to show cause why he should not be held in contempt.

By this time Hale was no stranger to law enforcement authorities; he had been under FBI surveillance since before the trademark suit began. In July 1999 a follower, Benjamin Smith, went on a shooting rampage that left two persons dead and nine others wounded. Days after Hale had publicly announced he was denied an Illinois law license, Smith traveled throughout Illinois and Indiana targeting black, Asian, and Jewish victims before committing suicide. Hale gave a eulogy at Smith's memorial service, a recording of which was entered into evidence at his trial. Hale told his followers that "brother Ben Smith was a very good man" and praised Smith's willingness to "take action for his people, not to sit in the easy chair and allow life to go by but to go out into the world and spread our sacred message." Responding to criticism that he had not condemned Smith's actions, Hale said:

[I]t's not the policy of the church to commit crimes but when you are causing the destruction of the white race, when you FBI, politicians, media, when you are sending the niggers into our neighborhoods, when you are letting them attack white people by the bushel, when you are promoting the destruction of our white people left and right, do not, do not be surprised when a white man of the character and honor of Ben Smith stands up and fights back in the way he did. Do not be surprised when there are white men who say enough is enough, who see our white people be victimized in the streets, who see white women afraid to walk down the street, and who say, enough is enough. I say unto you, my brothers and sisters, the future will see more, more Ben Smiths, not because of what we've done, not because we're violent people but because, when you kick some-one around when you persecute people, when you oppress people, people will explode. And they wonder why, once again, we will not condemn Ben Smith. We cannot condemn a man for doing what he feels in his heart is right whether it's outside the tactics of the church or not.

Afterward the FBI began investigating Hale, and a cooperating witness, Tony Evola, infiltrated the World Church. At his very first World Church meeting in March 2000, Evola met Hale and apparently won his trust when he fended off a protestor. At a meeting the following month, Hale asked Evola to be his "head of security" because the previous occupier of the position, Ken Dippold, had betrayed him by cooperating in a civil case brought against the World Church seeking damages for the victims of Benjamin Smith's shooting rampage. As head of security, Evola's duties included arranging Hale's travel and standing by his side during public appearances. Evola was also in charge of the White Berets, the World Church's "elite" fighting force. During his time in Hale's employ, Evola recorded a number of conversations that were ultimately introduced into evidence at Hale's trial. The following discussion of the facts is gleaned primarily from those recordings and from electronic exchanges between Hale and Evola.

In a conversation with Evola and another follower on June 17, 2000, Hale discussed the upcoming "blitz of literature" he was organizing to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Benjamin Smith's death in the hopes of making "big news." Hale recounted Smith's shooting spree, joking that Smith's "aim got better as he went along." Hale laughed while describing in detail the first four shootings. He then commented that Smith "was a good man" and stated: "I always stand by our comrades. If people are gonna fight with me, I'm gonna stand with them." In a conversation on June 23, Hale repeated for Evola and two other followers what he had said to Benjamin Smith upon meeting him: "[W]e can accomplish a lot more peacefully and legally, you know, straddling the system, one foot on the inside, one foot on the outside . . . . We're legal. We're peaceful. We're non-violent but we, you know, try to undermine the system every chance we can, you know." Hale went on to say that he wished Smith "hadn't done it" but that "he set out to make a point and he did." Smith, he explained, "made us a household name" and for that reason, Hale continued, he would "always remember him and respect him and appreciate him." Hale also lamented that it was becoming more difficult to pursue his agenda peacefully and lawfully. He remarked: "[I]f I don't get my law license, I'm not going to be able to in good faith tell people to obey the law like I've been . . . . I'm not saying that I would . . . resort to illegal acts. I'm not saying that. But I am saying that I think there's going to be a different policy in some ways." When one of his followers responded that "there's gonna be killing and there's gonna be shootin," Hale said, "You know and I agree with you."

In a conversation on June 29, 2000, shortly after the trademark suit had commenced, Hale said of Benjamin Smith's rampage: "[I]t must have been fun while he was doing it." Hale also stated that it was "personally still [his] intention" to follow the law because he was being "watched all the time," but he would not "urge people to follow the law" as it was "up to them" to decide.

The following day, Hale left a message on his "hotline" (a voice mailbox that followers could call to hear recorded messages) announcing that the Supreme Court of the United States had declined to hear his challenge to the denial of his Illinois law license. Hale stated that he could "no longer in good faith and good conscience urge, recommend, or instruct my adherents and supporters in general to obey the laws of this land." Hale declared the United States government "illegitimate" and stated that he and his followers "are free according to our own conscience to take whatever actions we deem necessary to resist this tyranny." He said that "whatever blood is spilled will be on the hands of those who so severely wronged us today" and urged his followers to "do what is right today to fight for our white race to secure the existence of our people for all time on this planet."

On December 3, 2000, Hale spoke to Evola and another follower about the civil lawsuit against the World Church arising from the Smith shootings. Hale suspected that his former security chief, Ken Dippold — whom he dubbed "a big fat coward" — would testify that Hale had orchestrated Smith's actions. Evola asked Hale, "What are we gonna do about this . . . traitor?" Hale responded, "[A]ll we can do at this point is be legal and peaceful and follow the rules." But he added: "[I]f I could snap my fingers and the bastard would drop dead hideously right now, I'd do it in a heartbeat, you know, but unfortunately, it's not that easy." Later Hale remarked: "If somebody came to me and said . . . I have the means to make sure that Polar Bear doesn't continue with this bullshit and I'd say hey, I don't want to know about it . . . I have no legal obligation to like tell Polar Bear somebody doesn't like him."

On December 17, 2000, Evola and Hale spoke in an Internet chatroom. Evola asked Hale if he had considered Evola's prior disclosure that he had a cousin who could take care of "the rat." Hale replied, "Of course, it is very important that I be able to say...