FBI arrests leader of neo-Nazi gang who fled to Central America

The FBI has arrested a white nationalist figure who fled the U.S. earlier this month, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Authorities have charged 28-year-old Robert Paul Rundo with conspiracy to commit violence and incite riots, according to a criminal complaint.

Rundo is the leader of the Rise Above Movement, a violent neo-Nazi gang based in Southern California. Three other members of the group were also arrested and named in the filing, which was unsealed Tuesday.

{mosads}Rundo fled the U.S. earlier this month for Mexico and then Central America, according to The New York Times. He was brought back to the U.S. on Monday, sources told the Times.

Members of the Rise Above Movement have been connected to violent acts and protests in California and elsewhere. According to the Department of Justice, the four attacked two journalists and a group of counter-protesters at President Trump’s rally in Huntington Beach, Calif., last March.

Four members of the group were charged with conspiracy to riot after attacking counterprotesters at the 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va.

Rundo also has ties to other neo-Nazi groups, including international organizations. He also has a criminal history from before he founded the Rise Above Movement. Rundo served 20 months in prison for stabbing a member of the MS-13 gang in 2009. At the time, he was a member of a neighborhood gang, the Original Flushing Crew, according to The New York Times.

-Updated 5:05 p.m.