16 members of white supremacist gang federally indicted for violent crimes, racketeering

The Department of Justice say 16 people have been arrested and federally charged for their involvement in a violent, Florida-based white supremacist gang, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.

According to the indictment, the defendants were members of “Unforgiven”, a racketeering enterprise engaged in acts of murder, violence, kidnapping, robbery, obstruction of justice, and other offenses.

Members of the group would “corrupt law enforcement officers and state employees” to gather information about people, investigations, and prosecutions, and to smuggle contraband to incarcerated inmates, court papers allege.

The indictment charges each of 16 men with committing at least one violent act in aid of “Unforgiven”, including kidnappings, conspiracies to commit assault, threats of violence, and assaults with deadly weapons.

Four of the defendants are from the Jacksonville area.

Levi Sharp, 38, from Satsuma

• Assault in Aid of Racketeering
• Kidnapping in Aid of Racketeering Activity

Ryann Howard, 39, Orange Park

• Conspiracy to Commit Assault in Aid of Racketeering Activity
• Conspiracy to Commit Assault in Aid of Racketeering Activity

Ryan McLaughlin, 35, Jacksonville

• Conspiracy to Commit Assault in Aid of Racketeering Activity
• Conspiracy to Commit Assault in Aid of Racketeering Activity

William Walker, 38, Jacksonville

Conspiracy to Commit Assault in Aid of Racketeering Activity

According to the Anti-defamation League, “the Unforgiven” are a large white supremacist prison gang based in the Florida prison system. Members require the study of “Aryan Philosophy.”

Gang members, according to the indictment, would kidnap, assault, batter, and stab members and associates of the group who did not abide by rules.

The indictment says the group was created in part to rebel against a “perceived constant and almost brutal victimization of whites” in the Florida prison system.

Federal prosecutors say members also created a political branch called Route 21, which they used as an “attempt to disguise the white supremacist roots of its political activity.”

©2021 Cox Media Group