JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The local men facing charges in connection to a violent white supremacist gang likely won’t be the last charged, a retired FBI agent told News4Jax.
Three local men in federal court in Jacksonville on Thursday are among 16 Florida men named in a federal indictment, part of a violent gang that goes by “Unforgiven.”
One of the men is from Jacksonville, one is from Orange Park and another is from Satsuma.
MORE | 4 Northeast Florida men in ‘white supremacist gang’ indicted in violent crimes
According to the indictment, gang members tried to use corrupt law enforcement members to find out about the investigation into the organization.
Officials call the group a racketeering enterprise that’s accused of murder, kidnapping, robbery and other violent crimes.
News4Jax spoke with Toni Chrabot who is a retired FBI assistant special agent in charge, now CEO of Risk Confidence Group.
“They believe in the Aryan philosophy. They have their own constitution and by-laws but we don’t know exactly what those are,” Chrabot said.
Investigators said the crimes date back to 2019.
All four of the local men indicted were released from prison in 2017 and 2018.
The indictment claims Unforgiven used “corrupt law enforcement officers and state employees to gather information about people, investigations and prosecutions.” They’re also accused of using these workers to smuggle contraband to inmates.
“You would do that through bribery or extortion, or sympathetic which I think would be rare,” Chrabot said.
Members of the enterprise created a political branch called Route 21, in an attempt to disguise the white supremacists’ roots of its political activity, according to the indictment.
Chrabot said despite their political aspirations, the charges against the group members are considered violent crimes not necessarily domestic terrorism.
“In the indictment, you don’t have domestic terrorism. If you’ve established a political branch and have made progress with that, that is concerning,” Chrabot said. “The difference between a criminal act and domestic terrorism is that the acts are focused on changing or impacting the nation or a mass amount people or mass destruction.”
According to the indictment, at least two members of Unforgiven previously served time at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Lake City.
News4Jax asked the prison if any of their employees were involved with the crimes they say they are looking into it.