Nearly three dozen alleged members of the white supremacist group Aryan Brotherhood of Texas have been charged in a 43-page federal indictment that includes crimes that could result in the death penalty, the Associated Press reports.
A federal grand jury returned three weeks ago the 17-count indictment, which was unsealed Friday.
According to Reuters, the 34 suspected white supremacist gang members, 14 of whom were arrested in a massive raid on Friday, face charges including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, assault and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. The arrests include four of the gang’s “generals.”
"Today's takedown represents a devastating blow to the leadership of the ABT," Assistant U.S. Attorney General Lanny Breuer said in announcing the major operation in Houston, Reuters reports.
"Brutal beatings, fire bombings, drug trafficking and murder are all part of ABT's standard operating procedure," Breuer said.
The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas was founded in the 1980s as a white-only gang inside the Texas prison system, according to Reuters.
The group, which was modeled after the 1960s-era Aryan Brotherhood of California, quickly branched out to illegal enterprises inside and outside of prison.
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