A federal judge today dismissed one of four charges that neo-Nazi leader William A. White was convicted of in December.
"The court finds that there is no substantial evidence which would permit any rational trier of fact to find the defendant guilty," U.S. District Judge James Turk wrote in an opinion.
The jury verdict dismissed by Turk alleged that White had threatened Richard Warman, a human rights attorney from Canada who often brings civil actions against white supremacists.
White, the self-proclaimed commander of the Roanoke-based American National Socialist Workers Party, wrote on his Web site that Warman should be killed.
But unlike the other threats for which White was convicted, most of White's comments were not communicated directly to Warman, Turk wrote in his 32-page opinion.
The decision upholds the remaining three convictions against White - intimidating a group of apartment complex tenants in Virginia Beach and threatening a university administrator in Delaware and a bank employee in Missouri.
A jury convicted White of the charges following an eight-day trial in U.S. District Court in Roanoke.
White is scheduled to be sentenced April 14. Although he faces up to 30 years in prison on the remaining charges, sentencing guidelines are likely to recommended a lighter sentence.
