May 9, 2012
Ten suspects linked to the American Front white separatists group were allegedly preparing for a race war. The ten were arrested after the FBI raided their Florida camp, authorities said. The last three arrests came after seven people were taken into custody this past weekend on felony charges that fall under the state’s hate crime law, Florida television station WFTV reported. Two married couples were among those busted. Marcus Faella, 39, and wife Patricia, 36, were arrested along with Mark McGowan, 25, and his wife Jennifer, 25. The Faellas and Mark McGowan were identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as leaders of the violent group of racist skinheads. Also busted were 26-year-old Christopher Brooks, Diane Stevens, 28, Kent McLellan, 22, Paul Jackson, 25, Dustin Perry, 20, and 23-year-old Richard Stockdale.
The group was led by Marcus Faella and his wife, Patricia Faella, of St. Cloud, Florida. Court papers said that "Faella views himself and the other members of the American Front as the protectors of the white race" and that "the race war will take place within the next few years based on current world events."
Much of the information of the alleged plots came from an informant who infiltrated the group in mid-2010. Fearing that his cover might be blown, the informant destroyed his cellphone after removing the memory card.
