Editing Matthew F. Hale (section)

==Denial of law license==
Hale began at the [[Southern Illinois University School of Law]] in 1995,<ref name="splc-creator-timeline"/> graduating in May 1998 and passing the Illinois state [[bar examination]] in July of the same year.<ref name="hale-v-committee-complaint"/>{{COI source|date=May 2019}}

On December 16, 1998, the Illinois Bar Committee on Character and Fitness rejected Hale's application for a license to practice law. Hale appealed, and a hearing was held on April 10, 1999. On June 30, 1999, a Hearing Panel of the Committee refused to certify that Hale had the requisite moral character and fitness to practice law in Illinois.<ref>{{cite press release | url = http://www.state.il.us/court/Media/PressRel/1999/102999.htm | date = October 29, 1999 | title = Committee Files With Illinois Supreme Court Objection to Matthew F. Hale's Application for Law License | publisher = [[Illinois Supreme Court]] | access-date = September 8, 2010 }}</ref> Attorney [[Glenn Greenwald]] represented Hale in a failed federal lawsuit to overturn the licensing decision.<ref name="hale-v-committee-complaint" /> The [[U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois]] concluded it did not have jurisdiction to review an earlier decision of the Illinois Supreme Court upholding the license denial.<ref name="7thCir">{{cite court |litigants = Matthew F. Hale v. Committee on Character and Fitness for the State of Illinois |vol = 353 |reporter = F.3d |opinion = 678 |court = Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit |date = 2003 |url= https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/782652/matthew-f-hale-v-committee-on-character-and-fitnes/}}</ref> The [[Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals]] upheld that decision in an opinion filed on July 14, 2003.<ref name="7thCir" />

Two days after Hale was denied a license to practice law, a World Church of the Creator member and college student, Benjamin Smith, went on [[1999 Independence Day weekend shootings|a three-day shooting spree]] in which he randomly targeted members of racial and ethnic minority groups in Illinois and [[Indiana]]. Smith killed two people and wounded ten others before committing [[suicide]] on July 4. Mark Potok, director of intelligence for the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]], believes that Smith may have acted in [[retaliation]] after Hale's application to practice law was rejected.<ref>Wilgoren, Jodi (March 2, 2005). [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/02/national/02chicago.html Haunted by Threats, U.S. Judge Finds New Horror]. ''The New York Times''.</ref>

During a television interview in the summer of 1999,{{Full citation needed|date=September 2016}} Hale stated that his "church does not condone violent or illegal activities".<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/04/27/hale-guilty-2/ | title = Hale guilty: Profile: Supremacist offered mixed message through his group | date = April 27, 2004 | work = [[Chicago Tribune]] | edition = online | access-date = September 4, 2016 }}</ref>