FSU, which is commonly referred to as "Friends Stand United" or "Fuck Shit Up," is a violent hardcore punk gang that has been growing in the American underground since the early '90s. Led by Righteous Jams guitarist and former Wrecking Crew vocalist Elgin James, the gang has chapters in most American cities and ties to most major hardcore bands.
Under the guise of "anti-racism," the crew have notoriously put a number of people in the hospital, often for such minor quibbles as wearing the wrong kind of T-shirt at hardcore shows. Most famously, 25-year-old James Morrison died in 2007, when an FSU gang member objected to the confederate flag on his friend's Lynyrd Skynyrd T-shirt at a Ramallah show in Florida and broke a bar stool over his head.
Fortunately, it appears that the appropriate legal actions are now being taken. According to the Chicago FBI site [via BrooklynVegan], Elgin James has been arrested and is facing a number of charges.
"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 FBI statement reads. "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."
To read the entire release from the FBI, which also simply states James "uses violence to control hardcore punk rock music," click here.
According to his Wikipedia page, James is in a new band with New Found Glory's Chad Gilbert. An album from the band is expected to surface this year.
Under the guise of "anti-racism," the crew have notoriously put a number of people in the hospital, often for such minor quibbles as wearing the wrong kind of T-shirt at hardcore shows. Most famously, 25-year-old James Morrison died in 2007, when an FSU gang member objected to the confederate flag on his friend's Lynyrd Skynyrd T-shirt at a Ramallah show in Florida and broke a bar stool over his head.
Fortunately, it appears that the appropriate legal actions are now being taken. According to the Chicago FBI site [via BrooklynVegan], Elgin James has been arrested and is facing a number of charges.
"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 FBI statement reads. "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."
To read the entire release from the FBI, which also simply states James "uses violence to control hardcore punk rock music," click here.
According to his Wikipedia page, James is in a new band with New Found Glory's Chad Gilbert. An album from the band is expected to surface this year.
