By Fallan Patterson

Staff Writer

Marcus Faella was preparing for an “inevitable” race war against Central Florida's Jewish, immigrant and minority populations by training members of his skinhead group in weapons handling, shooting techniques and hand-to-hand combat on his Holopaw compound, authorities said.

The property, detailed in an arrest warrant, is at 6173 Harris Road, east of St. Cloud near hundreds of acres of woodland and swamp. It was surrounded by barbwire fence and fortified entrenchments made of railroad timbers, cement pilings and guarded by pitbulls.

Faella's trailer on the property is fitted with firing ports cut into the sides and he was stockpiling ammunition, ready-to-eat meals, water and other supplies, records show. Faella's arsenal included AK-47 assault rifles, 12-gauge shotguns, TEC-9 semiautomatic firearms and 9 mm pistols.

Additionally, Faella was attempting to manufacture ricin, which is considered a weapon of mass destruction.

After a two-year investigation into the white supremacist organization American Front run by Faella, multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies began dismantling the organization with the arrests of Faella and several of his members.

Faella, 39, was arrested along with his wife, Patricia Faella, 36; Kent Ryan McLellan, 22, of 4350 Story Road in St. Cloud; Diane Stephanie Stevens, 28, of 928 S. Park Court in Kissimmee; Mark Stewart McGowan Jr., 29, and his wife, Jennifer McGowan, 25, both of 402 Simpson Road in Kissimmee; Dustin Perry, 21, of 1705 Hiawatha Dr. in Kissimmee; Christopher Brooks, 27, of Palm Bay; and Richard Adam Stockdale, 23, of 104 Edgewater Dr. in St. Cloud.

The suspects were all charged with paramilitary training, attempting to shoot into an occupied dwelling and evidence of prejudices while committing offenses. Stockdale and Brooks also were charged with possessing a weapon as convicted felons.

“This investigation is a result of our on-going partnership with local law enforcement and federal agencies in a concentrated effort to stamp out hate crime in our community,” State Attorney Lawson Lamar said in a press release.

The operation was a collaborative effort from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Cloud Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the State Attorney’s Office, the Metro Bureau of Investigation and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, according to Danielle Tavernier, spokeswoman for the State Attorney's Office.

According to Faella's arrest warrant, American Front members considered themselves protectors of the white race. They used a racial slur to describe African-Americans they visualized attacking while participating in paramilitary – the act of teaching or demonstrating to other persons the use, application or making of a firearm and techniques of causing injury or death to people – and combat training.

Last November, Faella began sharing his vision of creating an “Aryan Compound” where AF members could live when the U.S. government fails.

In January, the warrant stated, Faella sent AF members to the tourist attraction Old Town in Kissimmee to recruit new members in order to collect dues to purchase more weapons and aid in expansion and propaganda.

AF members began making their own Ghillie suits – layer camouflage full-body attire – and homemade body armor in February, the warrant stated. Faella started planning to attack Orlando City Hall to bring attention and new members to the organization.

Additionally, Faella asked members such as McLellan to lure members of SHARPS (Skin Heads against Racial Prejudice) and REDS, another anti-racist skinhead organization, to an undisclosed location to ambush them and “put their teeth to the curb,” a reference to violence portrayed in the movie “American History X.”

Convicted felons Stockdale and Brooks carried sharpened screwdrivers and short shovels to prevent charges of carrying weapons should they get stopped by law enforcement, the warrant stated.

The investigation ended when the government informant's cover was nearly discovered by Faella and the AF leader began planning retaliation against the REDS May 1, considered May Day, known as an anarchist protest day.

The informant, who was once a “patched” member of American Front, told investigators he is willing to testify against the suspects, according to reports.