Jury seated in Roanoke Neo-Nazi Bill White's trial

6:00 p.m.

By Angela Hatcher
WSLS Reporter
ahatcher@wsls.com

Twelve white jurors will take up the federal trial of self-proclaimed white supremacist Bill White.

There are twelve jurors and two alternates. Four are women and ten are men.

White is accused of making threats by e-mail, telephone and on the internet. He is also indicted on extortion and intimidation charges.

The court made it clear to jurors that White is not on trial for his beliefs, but only for the crimes he is said to have committed.

Jurors were asked if they had seen White on television or in the newspaper. Have the room was excused when they said the media coverage they've seen could keep them from being impartial.

Jurors were also asked if they were so offended by the "N-word", that hearing it in testimony would influence their decisions. Two people were excused for that reason.

They were also asked if they had strong feelings about Jews or Nazis. One man told the court he has a Nazi tattoo to represent his German heritage.

One potential juror's father guards white at the Roanoke City Jail. She expressed concern that White now knows what she looks like and could have access to her personal information. Last week the judge denied a request for an anonymous jury.

One man, who is not a potential juror, twice answered questions asked of the jury pool. U.S. Marshal's escorted him from the building after he tried to talk to potential jurors during a recess. The defense moved for a mistrial because of that man, who they claim is a member of the NAACP. The judge refused the motion, but allowed the defense to ask if anyone was influenced by that man.

The trial is expected to last ten days.

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5:15 p.m.

10 On Your Side's Angela Hatcher has spoken with the U.S. Attorney who says a jury has been seated.
He says 12 jurrors and two alternates have been selected.
The jury is made up of four women and 10 men, all who are white.
There are no minorities on the jury.
Angela will have the latest on this story at 6.

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1:35 p.m.

Jury selection underway.

WSLS's Angela Hatcher will have live updates on day one of the trial on WSLS at 5:00 and 6:00 p.m.

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8:04 a.m.

Roanoke Neo-Nazi Bill White is expected in court this morning after a federal judge ruled against him last week.

His trial could last up to three weeks.

White facing seven federal charges, for either threatening or intimidating several people using the internet, the phone, or the mail. His defense lawyers argued all his rantings are protected by the First Amendment, and asked for the charges to be dismissed.

The judge said that will be up to a jury to decide.

The judge did however rule that the jury will not be anonymous.

Stay with WSLS 10 On Your Side and wsls.com for updates throughout the day.