Florida Authorities Issue ‘Sweeping Indictment’ Against 16 Members of a White Supremacist Gang

The Sunshine State is a little bit safer today after more than a dozen members of a local white supremacist gang have been indicted for a variety of charges.

Tom Winter of NBC News has reported that “16 members of a Florida-based white supremacist group — who went by names such as Shrek, Pretty Boy and Scumbag — have been charged in a 12-count racketeering indictment accusing them of engaging in acts of murder, kidnapping and other offenses.”

According to Winter, “members of the group called the Unforgiven used ‘corrupt law enforcement officers and state employees’ to gather information about the investigation and to smuggle contraband to incarcerated inmates.”

In court documents, authorities detailed the initiation requirements required to join the gang, including studying “Aryan Philosophy” and conducting “acts of extreme violence.” After they became members of the group, gang members were forced to get tattoos of hate symbols such as swastikas, iron crosses and SS bolts, pay “membership dues,” and also attend regular meetings that the group called “Church.”

Members of the Unforgiven group also established what has been referred to as a political branch called Route 21, hiding their racist activities by making them appear to be part of a political interest group.

“One of the people named in the indictment, David Howell, 39, was charged with assaulting protesters with a dangerous weapon at a ‘Peace Walk for Black Lives’ protest last June,” Winter reported. “Several members — including George ‘Shrek’ Andrews, Brandon ‘Scumbag’ Welch and Joshua ‘Chain Gang’ Wilson — are facing up to 30 years in prison if convicted.”

Winter also reported that “another member of the group, Michael Curzio, pleaded guilty Monday [July 12] to participating in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. He was sentenced to six months in prison but was set to be released from jail this week after receiving credit for time served.”

In a statement, the Anti-Defamation League called the group a white supremacist prison gang in the Florida prison system, saying that the Unforgiven originated when locals decided to rebel against a “perceived constant and almost brutal victimization of whites.”

 

Related: For more recent diversity and inclusion news, click here.

 

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