Major Crackdown in San Fernando Targets White Supremacist Group Activities

Gavel, books, and handcuffs on a table.

Federal authorities have cracked down on the San Fernando Valley Peckerwoods, arresting 68 individuals connected to this white supremacist gang, sending a significant message in the fight against organized crime.

At a Glance

  • Sixty-eight gang members were indicted on various federal charges.
  • Authorities seized 97 pounds of fentanyl in the operation.
  • The gang is connected with the Aryan Brotherhood and Mexican Mafia.
  • Charges include drug trafficking, COVID relief fraud, and weapon offenses.

Major Arrests in Los Angeles

The joint federal operation in Los Angeles marks one of the largest takedowns of a white supremacist group in the area. The San Fernando Valley Peckerwoods, associated with the Aryan Brotherhood, face significant charges like racketeering and drug trafficking. Federal authorities worked in coordination with local law enforcement to execute arrest warrants across the San Fernando Valley, bringing 42 individuals into custody, while 26 remain fugitives from justice.

Authorities executed 29 search warrants, uncovering Nazi paraphernalia and contraband along with 97 pounds of fentanyl. These operations are part of a comprehensive federal strategy targeting extremist groups across the nation. In addition to drug distribution, the gang committed financial crimes, including leveraging technology to create false documents for defrauding Medicare and other insurance providers.

Crimes and Ideology

Members of the San Fernando Valley Peckerwoods allegedly used social media to coordinate illegal activities, such as enforcing gang rules and identifying members in good standing. Their association with the Aryan Brotherhood allowed them to collect “taxes” from criminal proceeds under the direction of prison gangs. U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada stated, “The Peckerwoods’ violent white-supremacist ideology and wide-ranging criminal activity pose a grave menace to our community.”

“The Peckerwoods are involved in a wide variety of criminal activity everything from drug trafficking to fraud offenses to firearms offenses, violence and identity theft, but what truly distinguishes them what defines them is their hate and their animus towards racial ethnic and religious minorities,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California said.

The indictment alleges that this gang collaborated with other organized crime groups within the California prison system. The group’s actions extended beyond criminal enterprise to acts of hate, with evidence of genocidal intentions against Jewish people found in the residences of gang members.

An Ongoing Battle

This operation, termed “Operation Hate One Eight,” occurred in the wake of several recent efforts by law enforcement to target white supremacist activities throughout California. With affiliations tracing back to Carson’s dominant prison gangs, the Aryan Brotherhood, and the Mexican Mafia, the crackdown demonstrates a robust approach by federal and state agencies to address the systemic nature of such crime networks.

“As a white supremacist gang, the Peckerwoods at times takes orders from the Aryan Brotherhood, California’s dominant prison-based white supremacist gang, and maintains an alliance with the Mexican Mafia prison gang, which controls most Latino street gangs in California,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a statement announcing the indictment.

“We’re not going to wait around for a tragedy to occur. We’re going to take action right away, and in order to do that, we use every tool in our toolbox to address that,” commented Estrada, emphasizing the comprehensive intent behind law enforcement’s actions. This latest move represents a pivotal step in weakening one of the nation’s most entrenched domestic hate groups as authorities continue to pursue justice for impacted communities.

Sources

1. White supremacist gang members in San Fernando Valley face federal charges

2. 68 people charged in connection with violent white supremacist street gang in L.A., feds say

3. 42 arrested in ‘historic’ crackdown on California-based White supremacist gang

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