68 alleged members of California-based neo-Nazi, white supremacist gang indicted

LOS ANGELES – More than three dozen alleged members of what prosecutors call a San Fernando Valley-based white supremacist gang have been arrested in connection with a federal indictment alleging a yearslong criminal operation that included drug trafficking, gun violations and COVID-19 and loan fraud.

Twenty-nine people named in the indictment were arrested Wednesday in a series of raids involving Los Angeles police and other agencies, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Thirteen other suspects were already in custody, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the gang has ties to the Aryan Brotherhood and the Mexican Mafia, and that its members “use Nazi tattoos, graffiti and iconography to signify their violent white supremacist extremist ideology.”

A total of 68 defendants are named in the 76 indictments, which allege crimes including conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

The gang’s “violent white supremacist ideology and broad criminal activities pose a serious threat to our community,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement announcing the charges. “By allegedly involved in everything from drug trafficking to gun crimes, identity theft and COVID fraud, and through their alliance with a neo-Nazi prison gang, the gang is a destructive force.”

During the investigation, prosecutors say police seized “large amounts of illegal firearms and dozens of pounds of fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin.”

The indictment alleges criminal activity dating back to at least December 2016.

The gang is said to have used social media – including a members-only Facebook group – to share information and target people who broke the gang’s rules.

It is alleged that gang members have generated income through drug trafficking, robberies, identity theft and financial fraud.

City News Service contributed to this report.