Authorities are investigating a racially charged fight that was caught on video between members of a neo-Nazi prison gang and a mixed-race family in Texas.
The Texas Observer reported that a group of ten family members and friends were tubing on the San Marcos River in the town of Martindale on June 22 for a birthday celebration when several members of a white supremacist gang confronted and physically attacked them.
Footage obtained by the Observer shows several people, both Black and white, brawling in a river in front of numerous bystanders. Viewers can see some people throwing punches and shoving people into the water.
In the moments leading up to the attack, the neo-Nazi group started harassing and quarreling with the family, according to witness reports. Someone was heard calling a biracial teenager using a rope swing at the river, “Tarzan.”
A verbal argument ensued between the neo-Nazi group and the family. One family member put their hands up to try to calm the situation, but someone ran into her and shoved her into the water, starting the melee. In the chaos, someone was reportedly heard shouting, “White power!”
In a now-deleted Reddit post, one victim described how the members of the “neo-nazi gang” had “swastika” tattoos and “other nazi symbols” on their bodies. The victims told the Observer that one person suffered a concussion, facial swelling, and a bruised retina, resulting in partial vision loss, and another received a bruised eye during the fight.
Despite numerous people being involved in the attack, police arrested only one of the alleged assailants, who was part of the gang. He was charged with misdemeanor assault causing bodily injury that was classified in the police report as a gang-related crime motivated by “Anti-Multi-Racial Group” bias.
After analyzing eyewitness video and comparing images to photos and videos on social media, the Observer identified five of the eight people who were seen attacking the family and instigating the fight as confirmed members or supporters of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, also known as ABT.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, ABT was founded in the early 1980s and is an unrelated offshoot of the racist prison gang Aryan Brotherhood. The group is a statewide crime syndicate that’s reported to be one of the deadliest in Texas, with members in state prisons and on the streets.
Most of the people the Observer identified in their report have criminal backgrounds and have been jailed for assault, burglary, and drug offenses. Three of them are pictured together on social media wearing motorcycle vests with ABT patches that depict neo-Nazi designs, like the 14/88 emblem, which is a common white supremacy numeric symbol.
After the incident at the San Marcos River, the owners of the business that rented out tubing equipment decried the fight in a Facebook post and shared that they’ve banned the instigators and assailants for life.
“We had no idea that these kinds of people were going to be a problem we just helped them like we do all of our customers,” the post states. “Our hearts go out to anyone who was negatively impacted by this awful incident. We stand behind those seeking justice. As far as we are concerned [the perpetrators] need to be removed from Texas … unfortunately bad people still exist in 2024.”
One of the people seen in the video throwing a punch wrote on Facebook that the owner is a “lier [sic].” He later deleted the post.
One victim told the Observer they’re afraid to return to the river and would discourage anyone else from going.
“These men and women are present in our everyday lives and were so emboldened by lack of accountability that they initiated a violent attack on women and multi-race individuals in broad daylight because they thought they could cover their hateful tattoos and walk away and go back to their regular lives without consequences,” one victim said. “And that should never be able to happen again, for the safety of everyone, the protection of our communities, and justice for my family and friends.”
Local prosecutors stated they’re still investigating the incident and more charges are possible depending on what evidence law enforcement gathers.
