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The Nazi Lowriders (or NLR, or "The Ride") is a prison and street-level gang primarily based in southern California, especially in the city of Cypress. They also have small factions in rural and suburban Chicago, and also believed to have spread to many other states. They are allies of the larger and more notorious gang, the Aryan Brotherhood. They are currently allied with fellow White Supremacist gang Public Enemy No. 1. Their main rivals are the Bloods, the Crips, and the Black Guerrilla Family.

History

The gang originated in the mid to late 1970s from the Aryan Brotherhood, but was not really noticed by law enforcement until the early 1990s, by which time the California authorities had been cracking down on the Brotherhood. 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, 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 Brotherhood to a fast-growing gang in their own right. Unlike other white supremacist gangs, they appear to be well organized and have developed links with other white organizations throughout the West Coast, including the Ku Klux Klan. Paroled gang members have been known to move east to further spread the organization's reach.

On January 28, 1999, California prison officials recognised 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 members

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.

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 member's stomachs, backs or necks. Other popular tattoos include "Nazi Low Riders" written in Old English script or the runic alphabet.

Despite the NLR's avowed racism, they seem to be ok with Latino wives and girlfriends. 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 B/H.), experts say, accepted Latino members must be only of European 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".

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.

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

References

1. The Los Angeles Times
2. The Los Angeles Times
3. The Los Angeles Times
4. Splcenter.org

More information

• Anti-Defamation League - The Nazi Low Riders
• California Department of Justice - Organized Crime in California 2004 Annual Report

• White supremacist groups in the United States
• Prison gangs in the United States
• Organized crime groups in the United States
• Gangs in Los Angeles
• Aryan Brotherhood
• Peckerwood
• Punk gangs
• Gangs in California
• Modern street gangs
• Gangs in Texas
• European-American gangs