;cbsCarousel (CBS) According to the Justice Department, 27,000 gangs with 788,000 members operate in this country. Chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian gives us a look at a heavily armed, and very dangerous white supremacist gang. Posing as a gun-runner an undercover ATF agent opened a door into the rarely-seen world of white supremacists. They're ultra-violent, sophisticated, and less interested in a pure white race, than the color of money. “Their criminal activity was first, robberies, burglaries, drug sales, firearms, arms trafficking, and then I think their white rhetoric and passing along their message for recruiting was second,” the undercover agent said. During the course of a 2 1/2-year undercover operation, the ATF agent met with white supremacist gang members at a hangout in Omaha, and other locations around town, setting up deals for drugs, guns and ammo. The leader of the eight-member group, identified by the signature red suspenders, is Jason “Skin” Hawthorne – a three-time felon. Virtually his entire crew had done time in federal prison – the breeding ground, experts say, for white supremacists. “What has happened in the last 10 or 15 years is that we have seen these gangs increasingly spilling out of the prisons and onto the street,” said Mark Potok, Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Particularly in California and Texas, and now spreading across Midwestern states, nearly 5,000 white supremacists are in prison today. Experts estimate that number could be 50,000 nationwide – distinguished by an unceasing appetite for violence. The undercover ATF agent was concerned about their “constant talk of violent activity,” and “their lack of respect for human life as a whole.” He added, “for them, I think it was a way of life.” ATF agents working what was known as “Operation Red Swastika” called this gang the “worst of the worst.” They cited the use of stun guns – stronger than those used by federal agents, radio scanners, and virtual carbon-copies of SWAT team outfits. Skin and his crew were wearing the SWAT outfits the night they showed up at the undercover agent's apartment, ready to rob what they thought was a drug dealer but was actually an ATF sting. The undercover agent said they were “ready to go,” with “black hats, black coats, pants, black boots, surveillance equipment, and GPS tracker.” Before they did that, some of the crew decided to get amped-up for the action – by smoking meth. “They sat at my table, loaded their guns, and smoked methamphetamines,” the undercover agent said. “It definitely took things to a different level.” So did a surprising phone call. AFT supervisor Mickey Leadingham informed his agent his wire was no longer working. “My words were, hey, you're flying solo. And he knew what that meant,” Leadingham said. A small army of law enforcement officers waited in a nearby parking lot and arrested all eight men without incident. “It was a relief. I was glad it was over,” the undercover agent said. “At least I thought it was over.” added by: TimALoftis
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