Misplaced Pages

Nazi Lowriders: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 21:51, 13 December 2024 view source2607:f380:8c9:3041:1657:afbf:c403:4ed9 (talk)No edit summaryTags: Reverted Disambiguation links added← Previous edit Latest revision as of 23:43, 18 December 2024 view source GoingBatty (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, IP block exemptions, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers636,649 edits General fixes, typo(s) fixed: highly- → highlyTag: AWB 
(44 intermediate revisions by 13 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|White Supremacist Gang}} {{Short description|White supremacist gang}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Infobox criminal organization {{Infobox criminal organization
| name = Nazi Lowriders | name = Nazi Lowriders
| image = File:Nazi_Lowriders_logo.gif | image = File:Nazi_Lowriders_logo.gif
| image_size = <!--(defaults to 220px)--> | image_size = <!--(defaults to 220px)-->
| caption = Emblem of the Nazi Lowriders, based on the '']'' symbol | caption = Emblem of the Nazi Lowriders, based on the '']'' symbol
| founded = 1970s<ref name="adl"> ] (January 1, 2005) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014125138/https://www.adl.org/resources/profiles/nazi-low-riders |date=October 14, 2020 }}</ref>
| founded = 1970s
| founder = <!--or | founders = --> | founder = <!--or | founders = -->
| named_after = Acquired From Cripp Wars | named_after =
| founding_location = Southern California, United States | founding_location = ], California, United States<ref name="adl"/>
| years_active = 1960s Present-Day | years_active = 1970s–present
| territory = Primarily ] | territory = Primarily ], with a smaller presence in numerous other U.S. states<ref name=adl/>
| ethnicity = ]<ref name="cicad.oas.org">{{citation|work=Narcotics Digest Weekly|volume=4|issue=40|date=2005-10-04|publisher=National Drug Intelligence Center|title=Special Issue: Gangs in the United States|url=http://www.cicad.oas.org/Crimen_Organizado/ESP/Actualidad/Pandillas%20en%20USA.pdf|access-date=2009-11-14|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524220015/http://www.cicad.oas.org/Crimen_Organizado/ESP/Actualidad/Pandillas%20en%20USA.pdf|archive-date=2006-05-24}}</ref>
| ethnicity = ]
| membership_est = 1,000<ref name="1,000 members"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422235619/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2004/nazi-low-riders-boast-over-1000-members-most-prison |date=2021-04-22 }} Camille Jackson, ] (July 20, 2004)</ref>
| membership_est = 1,000
| leaders =
| activities = Drug trafficking, extortion, armed robbery, assault, murder, identity fraud, money laundering<ref name="adl"/><ref name="cicad.oas.org" />
| allies = <!-- Any and all additions to this section require a reliable source. --> {{plainlist|
* ]<ref name=adl />
* ]<ref name="White Power Gangs"> B. Belt and G. Doyle, ] (March 1998) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131193458/https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/white-power-gangs-nlr-nazi-low-riders-story |date=January 31, 2022 }}</ref>
* ]<ref name="drug">{{Cite news|last=Rosenzweig|first=David|date=August 3, 2000|title=Federal Prosecutors Target Prison Gang in Drug Crackdown|work=]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-aug-03-me-63712-story.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306162913/http://articles.latimes.com/2000/aug/03/local/me-63712|archive-date=March 6, 2014}}</ref>
* ]<ref name="Bigots on Bikes"> ] (September 2011) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112104927/https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/assets/pdf/combating-hate/ADL_CR_Bigots_on_Bikes_online.pdf |date=November 12, 2019 }}</ref>
* ]<ref name=adl />
* ]<ref>{{cite news|last1=McCleskey|first1=O'Neill, Claire|title=The allies sureños have are "Skinheads" or "Nazis"|url=http://www.answers.com/news-briefs/sureños-allied-with-nazi-lowriders|publisher=InSight Crime|date=November 29, 2012|access-date=June 15, 2022|archive-date=May 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523024659/http://www.answers.com/news-briefs/sure%C3%B1os-allied-with-nazi-lowriders/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ]<ref name="Bigots on Bikes"/>
}} }}
| rivals = <!-- Any and all additions to this section require a reliable source. -->
| notable_members =
}}
The '''Nazi Lowriders''', also known as '''NLR''' or '''the Ride''', are a ], ] ] syndicate, and ] and ] in the United States. Primarily based in ],<ref name="adl"/> the gang is allied with the larger ] and ] gangs,<ref name=drug /> and fellow ] gang ].<ref name=drug /> The Nazi Lowriders operate both in and outside of prison.<ref name="1,000 members"/>

== History ==
The Nazi Lowriders originated as a ] gang in the ] during the early-to-mid 1970s, and later established itself as a gang for young ] inmates.<ref name="adl"/> It was created by members of the ] (AB), the leading white gang in the ].<ref name="splc">{{cite magazine|last=Jackson|first=Carmille|date=July 20, 2004|title=Nazi Low Riders Boast Over 1,000 Members, Most in Prison|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2004/nazi-low-riders-boast-over-1000-members-most-prison|url-status=live|magazine=]|publisher=]|issue=114|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110328073348/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2004/summer/nazi-low-riders|archive-date=March 28, 2011|access-date=May 26, 2017}}</ref> In the late 1970s or early 1980s, Aryan Brotherhood leader John Stinson began recruiting skinheads incarcerated in the California Youth Authority at the ] in ], and at the Youth Training School in ], to act as middlemen in the AB's criminal operations.<ref name="adl"/>


The gang did not come to the attention of law enforcement until the early 1990s, by which time authorities in the ] had begun suppressing the Aryan Brotherhood's activities.<ref name="adl"/> The Nazi Lowriders' position as middlemen for the Aryan Brotherhood, along with the crackdown on the AB, allowed the gang to supplant the Brotherhood as the most prominent white prison gang in California.<ref name="12 Inmates Accused"> David Rosenzweig, '']'' (February 15, 2002) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230807205333/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-feb-15-me-nazi15-story.html |date=August 7, 2023 }}</ref> While maintaining its presence in the prison system, the Nazi Lowriders also became a street gang, firstly in ], and later in ] and ], during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Due to gang's rapid expansion, links with other ] gangs, and highly organized operations, the Nazi Lowriders established themselves as a significant crime group on the ].<ref name="adl"/>
Nazi Lowriders are a criminal syndicate and a Lowrider Car Club based in ] and active in ].
Nazi Lowriders are also known collectively as '''The NLR''' and are also collectively known as '''The Ride''' of Nazi Lowriders.


As opposed to other white criminal gangs in California prisons, the NLR gained a reputation for being very violent. They are labeled as a ] by the ]. They are strong in numbers in such California communities as ], ], ], ], Rosamond and ]. The "Nazi" part of their name is more a sign of a racist belief in white supremacy than ], while "Lowriders" is a play on the term used for Hispanic gangs.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}
====Origins====
Nazi Lowriders were formed in ], ] and in ], ] in the late 1960s as a gang of members who owned ] ] vehicles with origins in the Southern California ] Car Culture. The name of the gang was originally a play on words as the gang fought enemy Hispanic Lowrider gangs and overcame rival Hispanic Lowrider gangs in Southern California. ] street gangs did not actually exist in Southern California during the arrival of Non-Hispanic Whites from the 1920s to the 1960s. Nazi Lowriders formed their own Prison Gang in Southern California in the late 1970s and they later formed a small alliance with a few Aryan Brotherhood members of Southern California. The Nazi Lowrider Car Club and the Nazi Lowrider Prison Gang are the same thing and these entities were not founded by ] or by the ]. The Nazi Lowriders were formed as a Hispanic Car Club of Southern California in the late 1960s.


The gang eventually progressed from being muscle for the Aryan Brotherhood to a fast-growing gang in their own right. Unlike other white supremacist gangs in the US, they appear to be well organized and have developed links with other white organizations throughout the West Coast, including the ] and ]. Paroled gang members have been known to move east to further spread the organization's reach.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}
===Origins In The Southern California Hispanic Lowrider Car Culture===
The phrase Nazi Lowrider was a phrase coined by the founder of this Car Club as members went to war with ], ] throughout the 1970s and 1980s and later the Cripp Car Club known as the Druids Car Club all throughout the 1990s. Many of the original Cripps were part Hispanic and or mixed with ] and ] heritage whereas the members of the Nazi Lowriders were more racially pure, hence the phrase: Nazi Lowrider. The Cripps later formed more alliances with the Latin-American community. The word ] and ] refer to people with Latin-American heritage. Latin-American countries are all of the countries that are south of the country of ]. While ] can be considered ] because they speak a dialect of the language of ] not all ] ] or ] ] have origins from the country of ].


On January 28, 1999, California prison officials recognized the Lowriders as a prison gang. Consequently, in an attempt to disrupt the gang's criminal activities, inmates known to be members can now be subjected to removal from the general population, as well as other restrictive treatments. To this, the Lowriders have responded by striking an alliance with ], another white disruptive group, which has since taken over the reins on California's white mainline prison population. Where ] and NLR have left off, PENI or Public Enemy No. 1 (Pronounced 'PEE NYE') plan to continue the 'key holding'.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}
===Unique Contributions To The Lowrider Car Culture of Southern California===
Nazi Lowriders contributed significant advancements to the Lowrider Car Culture of Southern California most notably the extended suspension engineering schemes.


== Organization and membership ==
===Membership Requirements===
In prison, the Nazi Lowriders have a three-tier hierarchy system consisting of senior members, junior members, and kids. The seniors typically lead the gang. For senior status, gang members must have been active for at least five years and been elected by at least three other senior members. Below them are juniors, who cannot themselves induct new members but can attempt to recruit potentials. Kids usually come from gangs like Public Enemy No.1, and the senior member who inducts them becomes their mentor. On the streets, the organization structure is not so clear, and appears to be more loosely connected.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}
Nazi Lowriders required members to prove specific and rare Hispanic heritage, but no ] heritage, no ] heritage and no ] heritage. People with any Latin-American heritage were not allowed membership in the Nazi Lowrider Car Club or the Nazi Lowrider Prison Gang. Nazi Lowriders also required members to own a specific ] ] with or without ]. Lowrider Chevy vehicles were required in order to beat all of the street-level gangs without vehicles as well as beat all of the rival Lowrider gangs. Members were also required to own a hand-gun so that member could engage in drive by shootings on their enemies from the lowrider vehicle. Hydraulics were later necessary in order to beat all of the enemies that hid in motels and hotels in Southern California as well as to tactically defend against gun fire from enemy gangs. Chevy vehicles that were manufactured in the 1960s to the late 1970s had extremely tough and high quality metals where .22 caliber and .40 caliber rounds could not penetrate.


Nazi Lowriders members are typically aged in their teens and early 20s.<ref name="adl"/>
===Differences In Hispanic Groups===
* The word ] refer to all of the people with provable heritage from the world of ]
* The word ] refer to the country of ] where the language of ] come from.
* The phrase ] refers to people with provable heritage from Latin American countries which are all of the countries below ]
* The words ] and ] refers to people with that specific Mexican-Hispanic ethnic identity
* The words ] and ] refers to people with provable heritage from the areas known as Texas before it was declared the U.S. State of ].
* The words ] and ] refers to people with provable heritage from the areas known as Tijuana in present-day México.
* The words ] and ] refers to people with provable heritage from the country of México who are first generation Americans of the continental United States.
* The words ] and ] refers to people with provable heritage from any American Country being the entire American Continent.
* The phrase ] refer to people with provable heritage from the country of ] where the language of Spanish comes from.
* The phrase ] refer to people with provable heritage of American ] origins and possibly with White Hispanic origins who appear Non-Hispanic White.
* The phrase ] refer to people with provable heritage from ] who have no heritage from ] and who also have no heritage from Eastern-Europe.
* The phrase ] refer to people with provable heritage from ] who also have no heritage from any Latin-American country.
* The word ] refer to people with provable mixed heritage of ] of the areas of what is now known as México and ].
* The word ] refer to people with provable heritage of ] of the areas of what is now known as México with no ].
* The word ] refer to people with provable heritage of mixed ] and or ] and African / Negroid ancestry.
* The word ] and ] refer to people with provable ] and ] heritage.
* The word ] and ] refer to young people with provable ] and ] heritage.


Gang members may have ] and other body art depicting ] and SS ]s, although members are not necessarily required to bear them. A tattoo of the letters NLR (the acronym for "Nazi Lowriders") commonly appears on members' stomachs, backs or necks. Other popular tattoos include "Nazi Low Riders" written in Old English script or the ]. The logo of the NLR is a skeletal eagle holding a Nazi swastika, with the letters of the group based on the ] symbol.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}
====Street Wars====
Nazi Lowriders have been seen in numerous street battles throughout Southern California noticed from the 1970s and onward.


According to the ], "Despite the NLR's avowed racism, Latino last names and Latino wives and girlfriends are OK, but, experts say, members are supposed to be at least half Caucasian.".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2004/nazi-low-riders-boast-over-1000-members-most-prison | title=Nazi Low Riders Boast over 1,000 Members, Most in Prison | newspaper=Southern Poverty Law Center | access-date=2020-11-28 | archive-date=2021-04-22 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422235619/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2004/nazi-low-riders-boast-over-1000-members-most-prison | url-status=live }}</ref> In fact, much of the NLR's upper echelon is composed of Hispanics.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}} Due to their extreme underground ties with other hardcore, racial organizations (such as ] or ]), experts say, "you must be at least half white blood but no black blood", meaning accepted Latino members must be only of ] descent, or be at least half Caucasian. All must show loyalty to the white race and subscribe to an ideology of hatred, especially against blacks and "race traitors".{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}
===Years Noticed===
* Nazi Lowriders Versus Cripps - Ended In Truces With Different Cripp Groups In Southern California
* Nazi Lowriders Versus Bloods - War Ongoing
* Nazi Lowriders Verus Surenos of Southern California - Ended In Truce And Alliance
* Nazi Lowriders Versus Northern Sinaloa Cartel of Southern California - Ended In Truce
* Nazi Lowriders Versus Tijuana Mexican Cartel - Ended In Truce
* Nazi Lowriders Versus U.S. Marines - Unknown


The gang took its name from the phrase "]", which is associated with ] gangs, as an "act of ]".<ref name="adl"/>
===Nazi Lowriders Versus Norteños===
Nazi Lowriders were known to have battled ] in ]


Methamphetamine abuse is common among members of the group.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Finnegan|first=William|date=November 24, 1997|title=The Unwanted|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1997/12/01/the-unwanted|url-status=live|magazine=]|issue=December 1, 1997|page=60|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327232008/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1997/12/01/the-unwanted|archive-date=March 27, 2018}}</ref><ref name="police">{{Cite magazine|last=Valdemar|first=Richard|date=February 1, 2008|title=The Rise and Fall of the Nazi Low Riders|url=https://www.policemag.com/373085/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-nazi-low-riders|url-status=live|magazine=Police: The Magazine for Cops|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910151526/http://www.policemag.com/blog/gangs/story/2008/02/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-nazi-low-riders.aspx|archive-date=September 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="adl"/><ref>Morales, Gabe (ndg) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829162203/http://www.criminaljusticesolutionsllc.com/nazi-lowriders.html |date=2017-08-29 }} Criminal Justice Solutions, LLC</ref>
===Nazi Lowriders Versus Tijuana Mexican Cartel===
Nazi Lowriders were allied with the Sureños of Kern County in Southern California when they battled the Tijuana Mexican Cartel in the late 1990s.


=== Ideology ===
==Spark of The Wars Between The Nazi Lowriders and The Tijuana Mexican Cartel==
While the Nazi Lowriders are primarily an ] entity, the gang's ] ideology is central to its identity. According to the ], the gang "champions its whiteness especially when recruiting members from skinhead gangs and among new inmates, but it is primarily driven by criminal profit". The NLR's racist ideology has been the motivation for numerous violent crimes carried out by the gang.<ref name="adl"/>
The son of one of the founders of the Nazi Lowrider Car Club was drugged and molested repeatedly by a hispanic female member of the Cripps who also had membership in the Tijuana Mexican Cartel who targeted the Nazi Lowriders in 1997. This started a war between the Nazi Lowriders and the Tijuana Cartel where that son was ordered to stab a Tijuana Cartel Plaza Boss who lived on the border of San Diego, Southern California and Tijuana, México and facilitated
drugs and humans across the border of México and the United States. The Nazi Lowriders traveled to San Diego, Southern California and confronted that Tijuana Mexican Cartel Plaza Boss and the child that was molested stabbed that Tijuana Cartel Plaza Boss. This small war between the Nazi Lowriders and the Tijuana Cartel ended in a truce in ~ 2002. The son of one of the founders of the Nazi Lowrider Car Club was taken away from his family and placed in Child Protective Custody.


=== Presence ===
===Nazi Lowriders Versus U.S. Marines===
The Nazi Lowriders are active primarily in ], with a smaller presence in other U.S. states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada and New Mexico. The gang's presence spread outside of California after members moved to other states in order to expand the NLR's criminal operations after being paroled from prison. The Nazi Lowriders first came to the attention of authorities as a street gang in ], and subsequently spread throughout Southern California, and later in ] and ].<ref name="adl"/> In Southern California, the gang is based in the ] and in ].<ref name="Man Pleads Guilty"> David Rosenzweig, '']'' (August 11, 1998) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722191922/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-aug-11-me-12071-story.html |date=July 22, 2023 }}</ref>
In 2005 the ] attempted a covert infiltration of the Nazi Lowrider Car Club by using the identity of the son of one of the founders of the Nazi Lowrider Car Club.


The Nazi Lowriders had 28 confirmed members in 1996, but by 2000, the ] (FBI) estimated that the gang had 1,500 members in the California prison system and 400 in ]. In 1999, authorities identified 100 members of the gang in Nevada.<ref name="adl"/>
===Banishment of Lowrider Vehicles===
In the 1990s and the 2000s ] as well as different cities in ] banned Lowrider Vehiclews with hydraulics because the lowrider gangs could easily beat all of the ] and the ] everywhere in California by using those engineered lowrider vehicles.


== Criminal activity ==
====Current and Former Alliances====
The organization is involved in criminal activity both in and out of prison, notably in the production and distribution of ], and has become a distributor of the drug in Southern California.<ref name=splc /><ref name=adl /><ref name=police /><ref name="drug"/> The Nazi Lowiders also have connections with ]s, including the ],<ref name="White Power Gangs"/> the ],<ref name="Bigots on Bikes"/> and the ].<ref name="Bigots on Bikes"/>
* Specific ] and ] of California
* Specific ] and ] Motorcycle Clubs of California
* Specific ] and ] Car Clubs of California


This gang is responsible for dozens of assaults, attempted murders, and murders around Southern California and is considered an extremely dangerous and violent gang.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hayes|first=Dade|date=October 28, 1997|title=Man Pleads Guilty to Racial Assaults|work=]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-28-me-47529-story.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801025157/http://articles.latimes.com/1997/oct/28/local/me-47529|archive-date=August 1, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Rosenzweig|first=David|date=June 8, 1999|title=Skinhead Gang Member Sentenced in Hate Crimes|work=]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jun-08-me-45225-story.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311221839/http://articles.latimes.com/1999/jun/08/local/me-45225|archive-date=March 11, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Larrubia|first=Evelyn|date=October 29, 1997|title=Supremacists Charged With Racial Murder|work=]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-29-mn-47894-story.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714043845/http://articles.latimes.com/1997/oct/29/news/mn-47894|archive-date=July 14, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Valdez|first=A.|date=March 1999|title=Nazi Low Riders|url=https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=177437|magazine=Police: The Law Enforcement Magazine|type=abstract|volume=23|issue=3|pages=46–48|id=NCJ Number 177437|via=the ]|access-date=2017-08-29|archive-date=2017-08-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829163748/https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=177437|url-status=live}}</ref>
====Current and Former Rivals====


====Current and Former Enemies==== === Notable crimes ===
The Nazi Lowriders carried out two ]s against ] in ] in 1996.<ref name="adl"/> According to federal investigators, the street assaults were an attempt at "driving blacks out of the predominantly white community through a campaign of terror and violence". Gang members Eric Dillard and Danny Edward Williams used a baseball bat in the beating of Eric Miller outside a video rental store, on April 28, 1996. On July 8, 1996, Dillard, Williams and a juvenile who was not identified because of his age attacked and stabbed Marcus Cotton four times in the back. Williams was sentenced to 57 months' imprisonment, on June 1, 1998, and Dillard was sentenced to three years', on June 7, 1999. The third defendant was tried as a juvenile.<ref name="Man Pleads Guilty"/><ref name="Skinhead Sentenced"> David Rosenzweig, '']'' (June 8, 1999) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128194651/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jun-08-me-45225-story.html |date=November 28, 2020 }}</ref>


Two Nazi Lowriders members, Shaun Broderick and Christopher Crawford, allegedly attacked Nathaniel Harris, an African American ] employee, with a 20-ounce hammer in a store parking lot in Lancaster, in March 1999. The pair were arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon and civil rights violations.<ref name="adl"/><ref name="2 Arrested"> Kurt Streeter, '']'' (March 25, 1999) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722210539/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-mar-25-me-20765-story.html |date=July 22, 2023 }}</ref><ref name="2 Men Arrested"> Kurt Streeter, '']'' (March 25, 1999) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722210523/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-mar-25-me-20928-story.html |date=July 22, 2023 }}</ref>
====Current and Former Truces====
* ] and ] of California


In August 2001, Trevor David Thompson, a Nazi Lowrider and member of the ] from California, wounded Ashley McNeil, a 14-year old African American girl, in a ] in ]. McNeil was targeted because of her race, according to police.<ref name="adl"/> In May 2002, Thompson was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder.<ref name="Spreading Hate"> Michael Koryta, '']'' (August 18, 2002) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208140145/https://www.religionnewsblog.com/469/spreading-hate |date=February 8, 2023 }}</ref>
====Criminal Activities====


=== Investigations and prosecutions ===
===Notable Crimes===
On March 29, 2001, NLR members Marcello Castellano and Scott Kuhn were arrested after ] (LASD) deputies seized 73 firearms, including assault rifles, as well as hand grenades, body armor and a silencer, during raids on three locations in ]. A sheriff's uniform and Nazi paraphernalia were also recovered.<ref>{{cite news|date=March 31, 2001|title=73 Firearms Seized, 2 Men Arrested|work=]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-mar-31-me-45102-story.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=May 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223034212/http://articles.latimes.com/2001/mar/31/local/me-45102|archive-date=December 23, 2014}}</ref>


A three-year investigation conducted by a task force headed by the FBI and the ] Police Department, with assistance from the ] (ATF), the ], the ] and the ], culminated with twelve members and associates of the Nazi Lowriders being charged in a 17-count indictment alleging extortion, conspiracy to distribute drugs in prison, witness tampering, robbery, attempted murder and murder, on February 13, 2002. All of those charged were already in custody at the time of the indictment. Michael Bridge, a high-level NLR member, and Robert Baltimore, a "soldier" in the gang, were charged with the murder of an inmate in 1996.<ref name="12 Inmates Accused"/> All twelve defendants pleaded guilty to federal ] charges, including a senior member of the gang who was sentenced to nearly 23 years in federal prison in 2003.<ref>{{cite news|date=June 15, 2007|title=Reputed prison gang members take plea deal|work=]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jun-15-me-briefs15.2-story.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=May 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306162930/http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jun/15/local/me-briefs15.2|archive-date=March 6, 2014}}</ref>
====In Popular Culture====
* In the 2017 crime film '']'', Jacob "Money" Harlon briefly has a cellmate named Ripper (played by ]) who is a member of the Nazi Lowriders Prison Gang, sporting an "NLR" tattoo across his forehead.


== In popular culture ==
====Sources and Citations====
* In the 2017 crime film '']'', Jacob "Money" Harlon briefly has a cellmate named Ripper (played by ]) who is a member of the Nazi Lowriders, sporting an "NLR" tattoo across his forehead.


===Sources=== == See also ==
{{Portal|United States|Criminal justice}}
* Nazi Lowriders :: Lowrider Magazine of Southern California
* ]


===References=== == References ==
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}


====External Links==== == External links ==
* *
* *

Latest revision as of 23:43, 18 December 2024

White supremacist gang

Criminal organization
Nazi Lowriders
Emblem of the Nazi Lowriders, based on the Reichsadler symbol
Founded1970s
Founding locationPreston Youth Correctional Facility, California, United States
Years active1970s–present
TerritoryPrimarily Southern California, with a smaller presence in numerous other U.S. states
EthnicityWhite American
Membership (est.)1,000
ActivitiesDrug trafficking, extortion, armed robbery, assault, murder, identity fraud, money laundering
Allies

The Nazi Lowriders, also known as NLR or the Ride, are a neo-Nazi, white supremacist organized crime syndicate, and prison and street gang in the United States. Primarily based in Southern California, the gang is allied with the larger Aryan Brotherhood and Mexican Mafia gangs, and fellow peckerwood gang Public Enemy No. 1. The Nazi Lowriders operate both in and outside of prison.

History

The Nazi Lowriders originated as a skinhead gang in the California Youth Authority during the early-to-mid 1970s, and later established itself as a gang for young white inmates. It was created by members of the Aryan Brotherhood (AB), the leading white gang in the California prison system. In the late 1970s or early 1980s, Aryan Brotherhood leader John Stinson began recruiting skinheads incarcerated in the California Youth Authority at the Preston Youth Correctional Facility in Ione, and at the Youth Training School in Chino, to act as middlemen in the AB's criminal operations.

The gang did not come to the attention of law enforcement until the early 1990s, by which time authorities in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation had begun suppressing the Aryan Brotherhood's activities. The Nazi Lowriders' position as middlemen for the Aryan Brotherhood, along with the crackdown on the AB, allowed the gang to supplant the Brotherhood as the most prominent white prison gang in California. While maintaining its presence in the prison system, the Nazi Lowriders also became a street gang, firstly in Southern California, and later in Central California and Northern California, during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Due to gang's rapid expansion, links with other white power gangs, and highly organized operations, the Nazi Lowriders established themselves as a significant crime group on the West Coast.

As opposed to other white criminal gangs in California prisons, the NLR gained a reputation for being very violent. They are labeled as a prison gang by the California Department of Corrections. They are strong in numbers in such California communities as Oildale, Bakersfield, Lancaster, Inland Empire, Rosamond and Orange County. The "Nazi" part of their name is more a sign of a racist belief in white supremacy than anti-Semitism, while "Lowriders" is a play on the term used for Hispanic gangs.

The gang eventually progressed from being muscle for the Aryan Brotherhood to a fast-growing gang in their own right. Unlike other white supremacist gangs in the US, they appear to be well organized and have developed links with other white organizations throughout the West Coast, including the Ku Klux Klan and Hells Angels. Paroled gang members have been known to move east to further spread the organization's reach.

On January 28, 1999, California prison officials recognized the Lowriders as a prison gang. Consequently, in an attempt to disrupt the gang's criminal activities, inmates known to be members can now be subjected to removal from the general population, as well as other restrictive treatments. To this, the Lowriders have responded by striking an alliance with Public Enemy No. 1, another white disruptive group, which has since taken over the reins on California's white mainline prison population. Where Aryan Brotherhood and NLR have left off, PENI or Public Enemy No. 1 (Pronounced 'PEE NYE') plan to continue the 'key holding'.

Organization and membership

In prison, the Nazi Lowriders have a three-tier hierarchy system consisting of senior members, junior members, and kids. The seniors typically lead the gang. For senior status, gang members must have been active for at least five years and been elected by at least three other senior members. Below them are juniors, who cannot themselves induct new members but can attempt to recruit potentials. Kids usually come from gangs like Public Enemy No.1, and the senior member who inducts them becomes their mentor. On the streets, the organization structure is not so clear, and appears to be more loosely connected.

Nazi Lowriders members are typically aged in their teens and early 20s.

Gang members may have tattoos and other body art depicting swastikas and SS sigrunes, although members are not necessarily required to bear them. A tattoo of the letters NLR (the acronym for "Nazi Lowriders") commonly appears on members' stomachs, backs or necks. Other popular tattoos include "Nazi Low Riders" written in Old English script or the runic alphabet. The logo of the NLR is a skeletal eagle holding a Nazi swastika, with the letters of the group based on the Reichsadler symbol.

According to the SPLC, "Despite the NLR's avowed racism, Latino last names and Latino wives and girlfriends are OK, but, experts say, members are supposed to be at least half Caucasian.". In fact, much of the NLR's upper echelon is composed of Hispanics. Due to their extreme underground ties with other hardcore, racial organizations (such as Combat 18 or Blood and Honour), experts say, "you must be at least half white blood but no black blood", meaning accepted Latino members must be only of Spanish descent, or be at least half Caucasian. All must show loyalty to the white race and subscribe to an ideology of hatred, especially against blacks and "race traitors".

The gang took its name from the phrase "lowrider", which is associated with Hispanic gangs, as an "act of one-upmanship".

Methamphetamine abuse is common among members of the group.

Ideology

While the Nazi Lowriders are primarily an organized crime entity, the gang's white power ideology is central to its identity. According to the Anti-Defamation League, the gang "champions its whiteness especially when recruiting members from skinhead gangs and among new inmates, but it is primarily driven by criminal profit". The NLR's racist ideology has been the motivation for numerous violent crimes carried out by the gang.

Presence

The Nazi Lowriders are active primarily in Southern California, with a smaller presence in other U.S. states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada and New Mexico. The gang's presence spread outside of California after members moved to other states in order to expand the NLR's criminal operations after being paroled from prison. The Nazi Lowriders first came to the attention of authorities as a street gang in Costa Mesa, California, and subsequently spread throughout Southern California, and later in Central California and Northern California. In Southern California, the gang is based in the Antelope Valley and in Orange County.

The Nazi Lowriders had 28 confirmed members in 1996, but by 2000, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimated that the gang had 1,500 members in the California prison system and 400 in San Bernardino, California. In 1999, authorities identified 100 members of the gang in Nevada.

Criminal activity

The organization is involved in criminal activity both in and out of prison, notably in the production and distribution of methamphetamine, and has become a distributor of the drug in Southern California. The Nazi Lowiders also have connections with motorcycle gangs, including the Hells Angels, the Mongols, and the Vagos.

This gang is responsible for dozens of assaults, attempted murders, and murders around Southern California and is considered an extremely dangerous and violent gang.

Notable crimes

The Nazi Lowriders carried out two hate crimes against African Americans in Lancaster, California in 1996. According to federal investigators, the street assaults were an attempt at "driving blacks out of the predominantly white community through a campaign of terror and violence". Gang members Eric Dillard and Danny Edward Williams used a baseball bat in the beating of Eric Miller outside a video rental store, on April 28, 1996. On July 8, 1996, Dillard, Williams and a juvenile who was not identified because of his age attacked and stabbed Marcus Cotton four times in the back. Williams was sentenced to 57 months' imprisonment, on June 1, 1998, and Dillard was sentenced to three years', on June 7, 1999. The third defendant was tried as a juvenile.

Two Nazi Lowriders members, Shaun Broderick and Christopher Crawford, allegedly attacked Nathaniel Harris, an African American Walmart employee, with a 20-ounce hammer in a store parking lot in Lancaster, in March 1999. The pair were arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon and civil rights violations.

In August 2001, Trevor David Thompson, a Nazi Lowrider and member of the World Church of the Creator from California, wounded Ashley McNeil, a 14-year old African American girl, in a drive-by shooting in Indianapolis. McNeil was targeted because of her race, according to police. In May 2002, Thompson was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder.

Investigations and prosecutions

On March 29, 2001, NLR members Marcello Castellano and Scott Kuhn were arrested after Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) deputies seized 73 firearms, including assault rifles, as well as hand grenades, body armor and a silencer, during raids on three locations in Los Angeles County. A sheriff's uniform and Nazi paraphernalia were also recovered.

A three-year investigation conducted by a task force headed by the FBI and the Ontario Police Department, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the California Department of Corrections, the Orange County Sheriff's Department and the Costa Mesa Police Department, culminated with twelve members and associates of the Nazi Lowriders being charged in a 17-count indictment alleging extortion, conspiracy to distribute drugs in prison, witness tampering, robbery, attempted murder and murder, on February 13, 2002. All of those charged were already in custody at the time of the indictment. Michael Bridge, a high-level NLR member, and Robert Baltimore, a "soldier" in the gang, were charged with the murder of an inmate in 1996. All twelve defendants pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges, including a senior member of the gang who was sentenced to nearly 23 years in federal prison in 2003.

In popular culture

  • In the 2017 crime film Shot Caller, Jacob "Money" Harlon briefly has a cellmate named Ripper (played by Keith Jardine) who is a member of the Nazi Lowriders, sporting an "NLR" tattoo across his forehead.

See also

References

  1. ^ Nazi Low Riders Anti-Defamation League (January 1, 2005) Archived October 14, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Special Issue: Gangs in the United States" (PDF), Narcotics Digest Weekly, vol. 4, no. 40, National Drug Intelligence Center, 2005-10-04, archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-24, retrieved 2009-11-14
  3. ^ Nazi Low Riders boast over 1,000 members, most in prison Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine Camille Jackson, Southern Poverty Law Center (July 20, 2004)
  4. ^ White Power Gangs: The NLR (Nazi Low Riders) Story B. Belt and G. Doyle, National Criminal Justice Reference Service (March 1998) Archived January 31, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Rosenzweig, David (August 3, 2000). "Federal Prosecutors Target Prison Gang in Drug Crackdown". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014.
  6. ^ Bigots on Bikes: The Growing Links between White Supremacists and Biker Gangs Anti-Defamation League (September 2011) Archived November 12, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
  7. McCleskey, O'Neill, Claire (November 29, 2012). "The allies sureños have are "Skinheads" or "Nazis"". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on May 23, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Jackson, Carmille (July 20, 2004). "Nazi Low Riders Boast Over 1,000 Members, Most in Prison". Intelligence Report. No. 114. Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on March 28, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  9. ^ 12 Inmates Accused of Racketeering David Rosenzweig, Los Angeles Times (February 15, 2002) Archived August 7, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Nazi Low Riders Boast over 1,000 Members, Most in Prison". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  11. Finnegan, William (November 24, 1997). "The Unwanted". The New Yorker. No. December 1, 1997. p. 60. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018.
  12. ^ Valdemar, Richard (February 1, 2008). "The Rise and Fall of the Nazi Low Riders". Police: The Magazine for Cops. Archived from the original on September 10, 2011.
  13. Morales, Gabe (ndg) "Gang Profiles: Nazi Lowriders" Archived 2017-08-29 at the Wayback Machine Criminal Justice Solutions, LLC
  14. ^ Man, 18, Pleads Guilty to Skinhead Attacks on Blacks David Rosenzweig, Los Angeles Times (August 11, 1998) Archived July 22, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  15. Hayes, Dade (October 28, 1997). "Man Pleads Guilty to Racial Assaults". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015.
  16. Rosenzweig, David (June 8, 1999). "Skinhead Gang Member Sentenced in Hate Crimes". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 11, 2013.
  17. Larrubia, Evelyn (October 29, 1997). "Supremacists Charged With Racial Murder". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 14, 2010.
  18. Valdez, A. (March 1999). "Nazi Low Riders". Police: The Law Enforcement Magazine (abstract). Vol. 23, no. 3. pp. 46–48. NCJ Number 177437. Archived from the original on 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2017-08-29 – via the National Criminal Justice Reference Service.
  19. Skinhead Gang Member Sentenced in Hate Crimes David Rosenzweig, Los Angeles Times (June 8, 1999) Archived November 28, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
  20. 2 Arrested After Black Worker Attacked in Lot Kurt Streeter, Los Angeles Times (March 25, 1999) Archived July 22, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  21. 2 Men Arrested in Racial Attack at Lancaster Store Kurt Streeter, Los Angeles Times (March 25, 1999) Archived July 22, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  22. Spreading Hate Michael Koryta, The Hoosier Times (August 18, 2002) Archived February 8, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  23. "73 Firearms Seized, 2 Men Arrested". Los Angeles Times. March 31, 2001. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  24. "Reputed prison gang members take plea deal". Los Angeles Times. June 15, 2007. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2017.

External links

Skinhead
Vintage subcultures
Modern subcultures
and groups
Music
Clothing and accessories
Other topics
Organized crime groups in the United States
African-American
East and
Southeast Asian
Chinese and
Chinese-American
Hispanic and
Latin American
White American
European-American
Irish-American
Italian and
Italian-American
Jewish-American
Polynesian and
Native American
West and South Asian
West African
Outlaw motorcycle gangs
White supremacist
See also
Gangs in the United States
List of gangs
Organized crime groups in the Americas
Organized crime groups in Los Angeles
African-American
Active
Deputy gangs
Active
East and Southeast Asian
Active
Inactive
European-American
Active
Inactive
Hispanic-American
Active
Outlaw motorcycle gangs
Active
Polynesian-American
Active
West Asian
Active
Events
See also
List of criminal gangs in Los Angeles
Organized crime groups in the Americas
Categories: