A federal judge has dismissed a charge that neo-Nazi leader William A. White of Roanoke used his Web site to encourage violence.

In an opinion issued today in Chicago, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman ruled that White’s actions were protected by the First Amendment.

White had been charged with posting the name, address and telephone number of the foreman of a Chicago jury that convicted a fellow white supremacist in 2004.

Although the post made no direct threats against the man, federal prosecutors had argued that White made the information known with the hope that it would encourage readers of his racist Web site, overthrow.com, to threaten or harm the juror.

White broke no laws in obtaining the juror’s personal information, Adelman wrote in a 35-page opinion, "and an intimidating context alone does not remove the protection of the First Amendment."

White’s attorney, Chris Shepherd of Chicago, said of the ruling: "The First Amendment is at its best when it protects unpopular speech. If the First Amendment only protected us from expressing opinions that everyone agrees with, it would become useless, because that type of speech needs no protection."

Federal prosecutors were not immediately available for comment.

White still faces additional charges in Roanoke of using his Web site to make threats against a half-dozen or so targets, including a civil rights attorney in Canada, a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and a small-town mayor in New Jersey.