A federal racketeering indictment targeting members of the LA-based MS-13 gang was announced by law enforcement officials Tuesday morning.
Twenty-two alleged members of the MS-13 street gang have been indicted by a federal grand jury.
Most of the 22 people allegedly participated in a series of murders, including several slayings in which victims were hacked to death with machetes in the Angeles National Forest.
The indictment also charged gang members who allegedly murdered and attempted to murder rival gang members, those who were perceived to be cooperating with law enforcement, and, in one instance, a homeless man who was temporarily living in a park controlled by the gang.
The indictment focused on the Fulton clique from the San Fernando Valley. In one murder, according to the US Attorney's Office, several MS-13 members allegedly targeted a rival gang member who was believed to have defaced MS-13 graffiti. On March 6, 2017, according to the indictment, the rival gang member was abducted, choked, and driven to a remote location in the Angeles National Forest, where six people attacked him with a machete.
They're also allegedly behind complex extortion schemes, robberies and drug dealing.
The 78-page grand jury indictment is expected to be revealed at a press conference in downtown Los Angeles' Federal Building.
Former federal prosecutor Laurie Levinson tells KNX says this was a concerted effort by both local and federal authorities.
"MS-13 is a very violent gang and this particular clique of it is extraordinarily violent so this is a significant move by the federal authorities. This is a gang that is international, extraordinarily violent and present here in Los Angeles," said Laurie Levinson, a former federal prosecutor.
The case is part of a two-year investigation by the FBI, LA Sheriff's Office and Police Department.