Crime and Public Safety |

Neo-Nazi arrested in June antisemitic I-4 banner drop, FDLE says

A man was arrested Tuesday for his role in a neo-Nazi banner drop on Interstate 4 earlier this year, while three others are also facing arrest, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Jason Brown,48, was booked in the Brevard County Jail on an out-of-county warrant accusing him of criminal mischief for his role in hanging swastikas and antisemitic messages on an overpass along the Daryl Carter Parkway bridge on June 10, the same day other neo-Nazis were rallying in front of the entrance of Walt Disney World.

An FDLE spokesperson said in a statement Brown is part of the Order Of The Black Sun, a Florida-based neo-Nazi network the Anti-Defamation League said was formed in 2023 “by long time affiliates of Florida’s overlapping white supremacist network.”

Three others living out of state are facing arrest along with Brown, officials said.

In a statement, Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain promised to prosecute the neo-Nazi demonstrators “to the fullest extent of the law.”

“We are committed to upholding the laws of our state, including those designed to protect our travelers on roadways. These supposed demonstrators obstructed state roadways and tried to intimidate our community with hate symbols,” Bain said.

The FDLE said Brown was charged under the recently signed House Bill 269, a unanimously passed law that forbids displaying images on structures without permission and specifically targets intimidating and bigoted language.

That bill was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis amid several antisemitic demonstrations in the past year, including on New Year’s Eve, when passersby saw hateful slogans projected on a tower in downtown Orlando.

DeSantis was blasted by critics for not immediately condemning the June 10 demonstrations at Disney or the overpass, while then-spokesperson Christina Pushaw pushed back against those demanding he weigh in. But state law enforcement officials praised the governor for signing the law under which Brown was jailed.

“We want to thank Governor DeSantis for his support of law enforcement and for the signing of HB 269, giving us the tools to arrest this hate-filled radical,” FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said in a statement.

Daver Kerner, executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, credited DeSantis for “working to rid this state of intimidation, vitriol and hate directed towards people of faith, and for empowering law enforcement to do the same.”

Sen. Rick Scott, DeSantis’ predecessor, responded to news of Brown’s arrest on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling him a “hateful monster” whose kind “must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Florida will ALWAYS stand with our Jewish neighbors and reject these disgusting attacks,” he added.

Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani, who co-introduced HB 269, also praised the arrest, saying, “Thank you to everyone who has sent us videos and images of the Nazis — it does help. We are trying to ID as many as we can and pursue all options for accountability.”

Brown’s arrest comes two weeks after a white man carrying a gun emblazoned with a swastika shot and killed three Black people at a Dollar General in Jacksonville, which renewed attention to racist groups operating in Florida.

Experts: Hatred links Jacksonville shooting, antisemitic displays in Central Florida

Civil rights leaders blasted DeSantis in the aftermath, blaming the shooting on his “anti-woke” campaigns and past silence on organized racist activity, the Florida Times-Union reported.

DeSantis was booed during his appearance at a vigil for the victims, where he declared, “We are not going to let people be targeted based on their race.”

Days later, residents of a neighborhood 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 as far away as Volusia County. Neo-Nazi groups, including members of the Goyim Defense League, also gathered and waved swastikas during small demonstrations near Disney Springs and at Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs.