A second man has been arrested in a June demonstration by neo-Nazis in Orlando, during which members of hate groups hung antisemitic banners over Interstate 4 while other extremists waved swastikas near Walt Disney World.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Anthony Altick, 36, was jailed on a warrant Sunday by authorities in Alachua County. Altick faces a charge of criminal mischief for allegedly hanging banners along the Daryl Carter Parkway Bridge in Orlando.
Last week, 48-year-old Jason Brown was booked in Brevard County on the same charge. According to FDLE, two other out-of-state suspects are also wanted on active arrest warrants for their involvement in the June 10 banner drop
“The actions by this suspect will not be tolerated in the great state of Florida,” FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said of Altick’s arrest.
FDLE identified Brown as part of the Order of the Black Sun, which the Anti-Defamation League says was formed in 2023 “by long time affiliates of Florida’s overlapping white supremacist network.”
According to an affidavit for Altick’s arrest, FDLE agents working with Orange County deputies used a video posted on the Order of the Black Sun’s website to identify him and Brown.
The pair were recorded affixing a swastika flag to a fence that runs along the bridge facing eastbound traffic, the affidavit said. Altick also attached a flag with a slogan associated with Stormfront, a notorious white supremacist website, according to the affidavit.
Altick and Brown are being charged under a newly enacted state law that forbids displaying images on structures without permission and specifically targets intimidating and bigoted language.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the legislation after a spate of antisemitic demonstrations, including on New Year’s Eve, when hateful slogans were projected on a downtown Orlando tower. The same day as the I-4 banner drop, other neo-Nazi groups protested near Disney World.
DeSantis faced criticism for not condemning the June 10 demonstrations.
The arrests of Brown and Altick come weeks after a white man carrying a gun marked with a swastika shot and killed three Black people at a Dollar General in Jacksonville.
Experts: Hatred links Jacksonville shooting, antisemitic displays in Central Florida
Days later, residents in Gotha found flyers tied to the neo-Nazi Goyim Defense League disparaging Jewish people and calling on readers to “protect the purity of the white Aryan woman.”
Over Labor Day weekend, similar flyers were found across the region. Neo-Nazi groups, including the Goyim Defense League, also gathered and waved swastikas during small demonstrations near Disney Springs and at Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs.
Cristóbal Reyes of the Sentinel staff contributed.
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