Day: March 6, 2021

A federal appeals court has found that four alleged members of a Southern California-based militant, white-supremacist group can face criminal charges for violent attacks at local political rallies, reversing the ruling of a lower court judge who questioned the constitutionality of the law they were charged under. The ruling by a panel of 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judges revives the criminal cases against several alleged members of the “Rise Above Movement,” a group prosecutors allege recruited and trained members to commit violence at political rallies, including gatherings in Huntington Beach, Berkeley and San Bernardino. Robert Rundo, of Huntington Beach, Robert Boman, of Torrance, Tyler Laube, of Redondo Beach, and Aaron Eason, of Anza, are accused of attacking people at the Huntington Beach and Berkeley rallies, with Rundo also accused of confronting people at a San Bernardino rally. Prosecutors allege Rundo and Boman posted about the “violent acts” on social media in order to recruit others.
The March 2017 rally in Huntington Beach was held in support of then-President Donald Trump, and included a violent melee at Bolsa Chica State Beach with attacks on counter-protesters and journalists. The San Bernardino anti-Islamic law rally several months later also sparked violence, as well as acts of vandalism. The men were charged under the Anti-Riot Act of 1968. However, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney in June 2019 ruled that the act was too broad in regulating free speech, leading him to throw out the charges. Carney acknowledged the Rise Above Movement’s “hateful and toxic ideology,” but found that the government had “sufficient means at its disposal to prevent and punish such behavior without sacrificing the First Amendment.” The appeals court agreed that portions of the Anti-Riot act intruded on protected speech and as a result their opinion narrowed part of the law. But the appellate judges still found enough of the Anti-Riot Act constitutional for the charges against the four alleged Rise Above Movement members to be reinstated. The appellate judges wrote that the Anti-Riot Act covers “unprotected speech” that instigates an imminent riot and “unprotected conduct” such as committing acts of violence “in furtherance of a riot.”

via merczrynews: 4 alleged California white supremacists can face charges, appeals court rules

Two Texas men pleaded guilty this week to violent gang-related activities in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei and Nicholas L. McQuaid, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. Michael Martin, aka Aryan Prodigy, aka AP, 38, of Austin, Texas, and Bobby Dayle Boney, 50, of Sulphur Springs, Texas, each pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering.  Martin entered his plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zack Hawthorn and Boney pleaded before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Giblin.  Martin and Boney committed the assault as part of their membership in the Aryan Circle (AC), a gang that operates in Texas and other states throughout the country. “Fighting the scourge of organized criminal gangs is a team effort,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei.  “It will take the full resources and resolve of federal, state, and local law enforcement to push back against these violent criminal organizations.” According to information presented in court and contained in court filings, Martin and Boney both joined the AC in the early 2000s and have gang tattoos indicating their affiliation. Both served in leadership roles within the gang.  Martin had previously served as an upper board member of the gang, which meant that he was one of the five highest-ranking leaders in the AC. Also, for a period of time, Boney held the leadership rank of vice president, which meant that he gave orders to other AC members and disciplined members who were not following the gang’s directives, among other things.
The AC is a violent, white supremacist organization that operates inside federal prisons across the country and outside prisons in states including Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Missouri.  The AC enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, assault, and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the organization.  Members, and oftentimes associates, are required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members without question. Prior to Oct. 2, 2016, AC members learned that another AC member wanted to switch his gang affiliation, or “patch over,” from the AC to a different gang.  AC members were ordered to attack the former member in order to “X” him, or attack and remove him from the gang, because it violated the AC’s rules to join another organization.  A meeting was held at an AC member’s home in the Tyler, Texas area where AC members planned the logistics of the assault.

via orangeleader: Members of White Supremacist Prison Gang Plead Guilty to Federal Charges of Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering