A Chicago judge has recused himself from hearing the case of neo-Nazi leader William A. White of Roanoke, who is charged with using the Internet to encourage violence.

White has targeted a number of people on his Web site, including every federal judge in Chicago, according to federal prosecutors. Both prosecutors and defense attorneys had asked Judge William Hibbler to step aside in order to avoid any perception of bias against the white supremacist.

In an order entered Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Hibbler wrote that he could give White a fair trial. "This court however grants the defendant's motion to recuse itself only to protect against the appearance of impropriety," he wrote.

Hibbler referred the case to a judicial executive committee, which in a separate filing Tuesday asked that a judge from outside the Northern District of Illinois be appointed.

The need for an outside judge became apparent earlier this year, after prosecutors brought a revised indictment against White that cited an Internet posting in which he applauded the murder of a Chicago judge's husband and mother.

White is charged with encouraging violence against a juror in the case of Matthew Hale, a white supremacist who was convicted in 2004 of soliciting the murder of Judge Joan Lefkow.

In a separate post, White wrote that he was happy to hear in 2005 that Lefkow's family members had been killed in their Chicago home. Federal prosecutors have cited that post -- along with others by White -- as evidence of what they say is a pattern to incite violence by members of his white supremacy movement.

White, head of the Roanoke-based American National Socialist Workers Party, has also asked that federal prosecutors in Chicago be removed from the case and that it be transferred to Roanoke.

Those requests, which had been scheduled to be heard on Thursday, must now wait until a new judge is assigned to the case. White remains in jail, with a trial date yet to be scheduled.