Judge lets case against supremacist stand

ROANOKE, Va., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Virginia has refused to dismiss the charges against a neo-Nazi white supremacist charged with making violent threats.

Lawyers for William A. White, head of the American National Socialist Workers Party, argued White's activities are protected by the First Amendment, The Roanoke Times reported. But U.S. District Judge James Turk ruled Wednesday that prosecutors should be given a chance to make their case.

White's trial is scheduled to begin next week.

"I think the indictment is sufficient to go to trial," Turk said. "It may not be sufficient to go to a jury."

Prosecutors say White made threats by phone, e-mail and on his Web site against strangers around the country. In one case, he allegedly called the University of Delaware and threatened an administrator involved in a diversity program, telling a secretary people with the administrator's racial views should be shot.