Federal prosecutors have announced charges against 68 suspected neo-Nazi gang members in the Los Angeles area.
Members of the Peckerwoods white supremacist gang were named in a sweeping indictment filed by the Central District of California on Wednesday. Authorities had previously arrested 42 defendants before announcing the full list.
The charges included extortion, firearms trafficking, drug trafficking and financial fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Prosecutors did not mention any known or planned attacks by the group, but U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said it is on a mission to “plan attacks against racial, ethnic and religious minorities.”
“We are not going to wait for the next tragedy to take action,” he said.
U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Martin Estrada (center), announced charges against the Peckerwoods gang on Wednesday, ranging from extortion, firearms trafficking, drug trafficking and financial fraud.
The arrests involved federal and local law enforcement officials, including the Los Angeles Police Department, the Joint Terrorism Task Force and resources from the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, according to a cnn report.
Estrada described his work as “one of the largest takedowns in the history of the Department of Justice against a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and violent extremist organization.”
LAPD Acting Chief Dominic Choi also addressed the mass arrest and charges Wednesday in a statement.
“The proliferation of gang-related organized crime deteriorates the core of our society,” Choi said.
He added: ‘Getting guns out of the hands of gang members and drugs off our streets is just one more step towards reducing this deterioration.
“Today is yet another example of how local, regional and federal authorities, with equal dedication, are working together to investigate, arrest and prosecute criminals.”
Pictured: Authorities say they confiscated guns and drugs from the Peckerwoods gang.
The indictment accuses the Peckerwoods of taking orders from the Aryan Brotherhood, which is the dominant white supremacist prison gang in California.
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 the San Fernando Valley and is “essentially a local chapter of the Aryan Brotherhood,” according to Akil Davis, FBI assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles field office.
The indictment accuses the Peckerwoods of taking orders from the Aryan Brotherhood, which is the dominant white supremacist gang in California prisons.
The Peckerwoods allegedly assisted their imprisoned Aryan counterparts by committing a variety of crimes abroad to earn money for themselves.
The accused gang also benefits from the Aryan Brotherhood’s existing alliance with the Mexican mafia that supposedly gives them “greater freedom to commit crimes abroad,” Estrada said.
Members of the Peckerwoods gang have Nazi symbols tattooed. The initials ‘SFV’ stand for the San Fernando Valley, where they are based.
Throughout his alliance with the group, Estrada accused the Peckerwoods of committing drug trafficking, identity theft, and even COVID fraud.
“What really distinguishes them, what defines them, is their hatred and animosity toward racial, ethnic and religious minorities,” Estrada added.
Estrada backed up this claim, explaining that a previously arrested gang member threatened Jews on the Internet. Hate messages were also found in his home.
The name ‘Peckerwoods’ is supposedly a derogatory name for Caucasians in prison, something the gang has since adopted, according to Estrada.
The group has tattoos and clothing that show its neo-Nazi ideology and also collects Nazi paraphernalia, including swastikas and Confederate flags, Estrada said.
If members are convicted, they face a maximum penalty of life in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.