FBI Probes Letters Declaring War on U.S. Courts : Terrorism: The notes were sent in August. They could bolster a theory linking recent bomb deaths to hate groups.

Anonymous letters mailed last August in a “declaration of war” against several federal appeals courts are being studied for possible connections to mail bombs that killed an Alabama judge and a Georgia civil rights lawyer, FBI officials said Wednesday.

The letters were sent all over the country to news media and, in some cases, directly to circuit courts, according to Bob Davenport, deputy assistant FBI director for public affairs. Davenport could not provide information on the number of letters or their exact destinations, but he said that the places they had been received included California, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Jackson, Miss.

Bill Dempsey, a Marshals Service spokesman, said that all the letters had been postmarked from Atlanta. One, a copy of which was provided to The Times, was sent to a Jackson, Miss., television station. It threatened attacks that would lead to “widespread terror.”

“We are examining those letters to try to determine whether or not there is a link between those threats in August and the matters at hand today,” Greg Jones, an FBI spokesman in Washington, said.

Last Saturday, Robert S. Vance, a judge of the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, was killed instantly, and his wife, Helen, was seriously injured when he opened a powerful mail bomb sent to his home in Mountain Brook, Ala. The judge was buried Wednesday in a ceremony marked by extraordinary security. Officials said that a bomb threat had been received, but it did not disrupt the services.

On Monday, Robert Robinson, an alderman and civil rights attorney in Savannah, Ga., died during surgery after opening a similar package bomb in his office. Other bombs were safely defused in Atlanta and Jacksonville, Fla.

Authorities said Wednesday that they have no suspects in any of the cases, but hate groups have emerged as the primary focus in their investigations.

This theory could be bolstered by the letters, which contain language that refers to perceived injustices committed by the courts. Analysts say hate groups have turned increasingly violent, partly in response to several court decisions that have gone against them.

The one-page Jackson letter is headlined “DECLARATION OF WAR.” It declares that “the court’s failure to render impartial and equitable judgements is due to rank bias and the mistaken belief its victims can not effectively retaliate.”

The letter threatens to attack “citizens of densely populated cities” with two kinds of chemicals--carbonyl chloride, a poison gas used in World War I that can severely damage lungs, and cyanodimethylaminoethoxyphospine oxide, which could disrupt the nervous system, causing nausea, diarrhea and convulsions. The letter does not mention nail bombs, which were involved in the recent bombings.

“The attacks shall continue until widespread terror forces the court to adopt the impartial and equitable treatment of all as its highest priority,” the letter said. It ends: “Subsequent to each attack, the media shall be reminded the court’s callous disregard for justice made the attack necessary.”

Investigators say that the letters were forwarded to Washington for examination for fingerprints and for any clues to the psychological profile of the writer. The kinds of words, sentence structure and other characteristics can give clues to personality, investigators said.

The Jackson letter, typed in capital letters, was sent on Aug. 21 and was received three days later at WAPT-TV. “We all get crank letters,” said Terry Kurtwright, the station’s news director, “but, when you get one that says declaration of war, you take it seriously.”

Although the letters, for now, are getting careful scrutiny, there is disagreement on whether they always were taken seriously.

Kurtwright said that the station had turned the letter it received over to the FBI, but he complained that the bureau had brushed aside station inquiries about the investigation. However, FBI officials said that they aggressively investigated the letter. “This would not be considered lightly,” one agent said. “It would be looked at as perhaps an extortion attempt and treated as such.”

“Any time there is a threat communicated,” Davenport said, “you have to put some credence to it. We treat them all seriously. We followed established procedures.”

However, Dempsey called the letters “rambling, not coherent. It was not a direct threat on the judges. We checked it out and did not put any real credence on it.”

He added: “Rambling letters are received just about every day. We didn’t feel there was any direct action that could be taken.”

Another source close to the investigation played down the letters, saying, “People who did this (the bombings) are mean bastards, not letter writers. They are heartless, old-line segregationists who know every NAACP official’s name and office, every judge who has ruled against them.”

Ronald J. Ostrow reported from Washington and Lee May from Atlanta.