"CHICAGO--The self-proclaimed founding member of a street gang that purports to exert control through use of violence over hardcore punk rock music in clubs and concert venues in major cities nationwide was arrested yesterday by FBI agents in Los Angeles on a federal extortion charge filed in Chicago. The defendant, Elgin Nathan James, allegedly extorted $5,000 from an unnamed victim, a popular recording artist from the Chicago area, while the victim's band was on tour in late 2005 and early 2006, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today." [FBI]

The street gang they're referring to is the notorious straight-edge crew FSU which stands for Friends Stand United, or as most know it... Fuck Shit Up (or as the FBI document refers to it, "F(_ _ _) S(_ _ _) Up"). The charges continue...

On Nov. 27, 2005, the victim and several friends left a bar in Orlando, Fla., and were jumped by a group of men, some of whom were wearing clothing with logos that said "FSU" and "FSU Nation." The victim escaped with one friend. But another friend and that friend's brother were severely beaten by the gang, the charges allege. About an hour later, the victim received a telephone call from James, and according to the victim, James asked how the victim's trip to Florida was going when the victim had never told James that the victim would be traveling in Florida......

.....On Feb. 25, 2006, under FBI surveillance, the victim met James outside the southern California club and handed James an envelope containing $5,000, which the FBI had provided to the victim, according to the charges

As stated above, these charges are just coming now - over 3 years after the above incident happened. Since then Elgin James moved to LA, released a short film starring Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz and became a Sundance recognized-filmmaker! More about FSU and Elgin below...

Continue reading "FSU's Elgin James charged by FBI w/ using "Violence to Control Hardcore Punk Rock Music Scene""

the ET gang, Vineland, NJ, 1983 (CRED)

"We're not against having the concert, or doing things for the kids, but don't put it in a residential neighborhood," said Pete Steenland, a Hance Bridge Road resident who helped organize NARCS, in a telephone interview Tuesday. "If they wanted to drop 50,000 people in your neighborhood, you wouldn't like it, either."

"We won't be able to leave our homes that whole weekend because of both the traffic and safety issues," added Steenland. "We have gangs here in Vineland. Are they going to come to the festival to try and compete with the people there? It's possible." [NJ.com]

The article goes on to say that the final contract necessary to have the festival will be voted on "sometime before March, because that's when the promoters would like to make the announcement of what bands are playing." Show your support for the festival at a public meeting in Vineland tonight.