Report says violent prison gang got start in Costa Mesa

Greg Risling

One of the fastest-growing gangs in California prisons first came to

attention earlier this decade in Costa Mesa, according to a report

released Thursday by the Anti-Defamation League.

The Nazi Low Riders have mushroomed into a dangerous, jail-based gang of

white supremacists accounting for 80% of violent acts in state prisons,

the report says.

However, Costa Mesa police dispute the report’s findings that some of the

gang’s origins can be traced to Costa Mesa and that the gang continues to

flourish in the area.

“The Nazi Low Riders is a prison gang that wasn’t born nor was it

fostered in Costa Mesa,” said an emphatic Police Chief Dave Snowden. “We,

like other cities in Orange County, have had incidents with the gang.

“We have taken an aggressive stance against hate crimes here in Costa

Mesa. That type of crime just won’t be tolerated.”

The report, which was released at the Orange County Jail, said the gang

is part of a growing, hate-filled menace to the public. Although the

number of gang members remains a few hundred strong, some people fear the

power that an allegiance of white supremacist groups could harness.

“The potential threat of the [gang’s] alliance with other white

supremacist groups is alarming,” said Sue Stengel, the league’s legal

advisor for the western region. “The anger, hostility and racism of NLR’s

members make then perfect candidates to act as foot soldiers for the

racist agendas of these [other racist] organizations.”Costa Mesa police

maintain they have taken steps to monitor and eliminate activity among

white supremacists here. There were at least five incidents between 1996

and 1997 involving the Nazi Low Riders in Costa Mesa. In one incident,

five teenagers reported to be associated with the gang attacked a

12-year-old Latino boy with a metal pipe while he was playing a video

game in 1996. The five were sent to Orange County Juvenile Hall.

Unlike Latino gangs, white supremacist groups don’t claim “turf” and are

more transient, police said, adding that there are a handful of “low

riders” still living in Costa Mesa. Authorities know their whereabouts.

According to the report, the gang traces its roots to the Aryan

Brotherhood, a loosely knit white supremacist gang that got its start in

state prisons. The Nazi Low Rider name is derived from a common slang

phrase for Latino gang members.

Although relatively few hate crimes here seem to have been spawned by the

gang, the viciousness of each attack is horrendous. Members have been

involved in a number of brutal crimes including one in which a machete

was used on two African American teenagers in 1995 and another in March

when a Wal-Mart employee was bludgeoned with a hammer.

“What we are talking about are small groups that aren’t really

prevalent,” said Rusty Kennedy, the executive director of the Orange

County Human Relations Commission. “But their acts are really potent ...

the most vicious attacks you can imagine. Their intent is to drive out

and terrorize entire populations.”

While the racist ideology is one of the gang’s cornerstones, authorities

said the gang also manufactures methamphetamine and attempts to recruit

new members.

Where the gang has gained its notoriety is with its presence in the state

prison system. Prison officers have given the low riders a “disruptive

gang status” tag because of their influence on other white supremacist

groups and the amount of violence they cause within the prisons.

“Their ideology is white supremacy,” said Joyce Greenspan, regional

director for the defamation league. “It’s clear their mission is to have

only a white world, no matter what the cost.”