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Some of the alleged gang members have been charged for their
role in seven shootings that killed five people, unsealed court
records show. Five people have been charged with firearm murder,
while all 11 defendants were charged with conspiracy.
The charges are part of a federal gang crackdown authorities
announced in 2023 that has ensnared dozens of members or
associates of several Minneapolis gangs. With Wednesday’s
announcement, over 90 people have been charged with gang-related
offenses since the operation started, prosecutors said.
The alleged members of the Lows gang also stand accused of
trafficking fentanyl and possessing illegal guns.
“The Lows are an exceptionally violent criminal street gang that
has terrorized north Minneapolis for nearly 20 years. Through
threats and violence — shootings and murders — the Lows gang has
long sought to establish dominion over large swaths of our
city,” U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said. “My office will continue
to respond to gang violence by treating it as the organized
criminal activity it is. This indictment is an important step in
dismantling a violent street gang that has devastated families
and communities in north Minneapolis.”
Luger's office has built its operation targeting gangs around
the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO)
statute. The anti-corruption law is used to target organized
crime.
Instead of RICO cases, gang-related crimes in Minnesota were
traditionally prosecuted on an individual basis, Luger said. In
recent years, his office shifted its approach and began building
cases against the criminal organizations to which individual
gang members belong, he added.
Earlier this month, three other people charged in connection
with the federal gang crackdown were convicted under the RICO
statute.
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