Federal prosecutors have announced charges against 68 suspected Neo-Nazi gang members in the Los Angeles area.
Members of the white supremacist Peckerwoods Gang were named in a sweeping indictment filed by the Central District of California on Wednesday. Law enforcement had previously arrested 42 defendants before announcing the full list.
The charges included racketeering, firearms trafficking, drug trafficking and financial fraud, according to the US Attorney’s Office for Central District of California.
Prosecutors didn’t mention any known or planned attacks by the group, but US Attorney Martin Estrada said it has a mission ‘to plan attacks against racial, ethnic, religious minorities.’
‘We are not going to wait for the next tragedy to take action,’ he said.
US Attorney for Central District of California Martin Estrada, center, announced the charges against the Peckerwoods Gang on Wednesday, ranging from racketeering, firearms trafficking, drug trafficking and financial fraud
The arrests involved federal and local law enforcement, including the Los Angeles Police Department, the Joint Terrorism Task Force and resources from the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, per a CNN report.
Estrada described their work as ‘one of largest takedowns in the history of the Department of Justice against a neo-Nazi, white supremacist, violent extremist organization.’
LAPD interim Chief Dominic Choi also addressed the mass arrest and charges on Wednesday in a statement.
‘The proliferation of gang-related organized crime deteriorates the core of our society,’ Choi said.
He added: ‘Taking guns out of the hands of gang members and drugs from our streets is just one more step towards reducing this deterioration.
‘Today is yet another example of how local, regional, and federal law enforcement, with a matched dedication, are working together to investigate, apprehend and prosecute criminals.’
Pictured: Weapons and drugs law enforcement say they seized from the Peckerwoods gang
The indictment accused the Peckerwoods of taking orders from the Aryan Brotherhood, which is California’s dominant prison white supremacist gang
Specifically, law enforcement seized ‘large quantities’ of illegal firearms, along with dozens of pounds of fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin, according to the indictment.
The Peckerwoods Gang is based in San Fernando Valley and is ‘essentially a local chapter of the Aryan Brotherhood,’ according to Akil Davis, the FBI’s assistant director in charge of Los Angeles’ field office.
The indictment accused the Peckerwoods of taking orders from the Aryan Brotherhood, which is California’s dominant prison white supremacist gang.
The Peckerwoods allegedly helped their incarcerated Aryan counterparts by committing a variety of crimes on the outside to make money for them.
The gang that’s been charged also benefits from the Aryan Brotherhood’s existing alliance with Mexican Mafia that allegedly gives them ‘greater freedom to commit crimes on the outside,’ Estrada said.
The Peckerwoods gang members have Nazi symbols tattooed on them. The ‘SFV’ initials signify San Fernando Valley, where they’re based
Through the course of their alliance with the group, Estrada accused the Peckerwoods of committing drug trafficking, identity theft and even COVID fraud.
‘What truly distinguishes them, what defines them is their hate and their animus toward racial, ethnic and religious minorities,’ Estrada added.
Estrada backed up this assertion, explaining that a previously arrested gang member made internet threats against Jews. Hateful messages were also found in his home.
The name ‘Peckerwoods’ is supposedly a derogatory name for Caucasians in prison, something the gang has since embraced, according to Estrada.
The group has tattoos and clothing that display their neo-Nazi ideology and also collect Nazi paraphernalia, including swastikas and Confederate flags, Estrada said.
If the members are convicted, they face a maximum of life in federal prison, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
