The leader of a violent Southern California white nationalist group, as well as two other members of said group, were arrested and charged in connection with violent attacks at political rallies, federal authorities announced Wednesday. A third member remains at large.
Federal authorities said Robert Paul Rundo, the leader of the neo-Nazi group Rise Above Movement, is in federal custody and facing conspiracy charges after fleeing the country earlier this month.
The 28-year-old of Huntington Beach, Calif., was arrested Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport. He had fled to Central America after being indicted in connection with the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.
Rundo is also allegedly connected to violence at political rallies in Huntington Beach, Berkeley, and San Bernardino, Calif., in 2017.
Tyler Laube and Robert Boman were arrested Wednesday morning in connection with organizing and participating in riots, according to federal authorities.
Aaron Eason, 38, was also charged, but is at large and currently being sought by federal authorities.
All four men were charged with violating the federal conspiracy and riots statute.
The men used the Internet to coordinate “combat training,” attendance and travel prior to the events, and plans to “celebrate their acts of violence in order to recruit members for future events,” according to an affadavit.
Several other members and associates of the Rise Above Movement group were also arrested earlier this month in California: Benjamin Daley, 25, and Thomas Walter Gillen, 34, both of Redondo Beach; Michael Paul Miselis, 29, of Lawndale; and Cole Evan White, 24, of Clayton.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Los Angeles led the investigation.
Nicola Hanna, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, said in a statement on Wednesday: “Every American has a right to peacefully organize, march and protest in support of their beliefs — but no one has the right to violently assault their political opponents.”
Rundo, Boman, and Laube attacked a number of people, including two journalists, at a “Make American Great Again” rally in March 2017 at Huntington Beach.