California man allegedly part of extremist network accused of animal abuse, sexually exploiting minor
By Tim Fang
A Central California man who allegedly belonged to a group of violent extremists is facing multiple federal charges including animal abuse, sexually exploiting a minor and cyberstalking, prosecutors said.
The Department of Justice announced that a federal grand jury on Thursday indicted Tony Christopher Long of Porterville in Tulare County, following an investigation that began late last year.
Long is facing two counts of animal crushing, sexual exploitation of a minor, possession of a minor, cyberstalking and transmitting an interstate threat.
The 19-year-old, who has multiple aliases including “Inactive”, “Inactivee0” and “inactivecvx”, is believed to be a member and associate of “764”, a group described by authorities as an organization of “Nihilistic Violent Extremists” (NVEs).
“This defendant allegedly engaged in acts of extreme cruelty by exploiting a child, abusing animals, and threatening violence — his conduct reflects the depravity of ‘764,’” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement Monday.
According to the indictment, Long is accused of “purposely engaging” in animal crushing, sexually exploiting a youth living in the state of Washington and making online threats against another youth living in neighboring Kern County.
Prosecutors said NVE groups often target vulnerable individuals, including minors. Members use social media to share child sexual abuse and gore content, along with grooming victims toward committing acts of violence, with victims often extorted, coerced, compelled and blackmailed into complying with demands.
“These networks seek to terrorize and destabilize our communities by preying on the most vulnerable, and the Justice Department will stop at nothing to dismantle this network and bring offenders to justice,” Bondi added.
Prosecutors said Long is being held in state custody on related charges.
If convicted, Long faces a maximum penalty of seven years in prison on each of the counts of animal crushing; a sentence of 15 to 30 years for sexual exploitation of a minor, up to 10 years for possession of material involving a sexual exploitation of a minor and up to 20 years for cyberstalking, along with up to two years for making an interstate threat.
