ALLEGED WHITE SUPREMACIST INDICTED, ACCUSED OF LYING TO FEDS ABOUT HATE GROUP MEMBERSHIP FOR NAVY FACILITY JOB

BY AILA SLISCO ON 10/25/19 AT 8:40 PM EDT

A New Jersey man who is accused of lying about his membership in a white supremacist group in order to gain security clearance at a Navy facility was arrested and indicted Friday on federal charges of making false statements to government agents.

Fred C. Arena of Salem, New Jersey is alleged to have lied about belonging to Vanguard America, an alt-right hate group, on a security clearance form for his job at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Authorities also claim that the man lied about his association with the group when FBI agents asked him about it during an August 2018 interview.

"Lying on federal security clearance forms and to government agents will land you in big trouble," said U.S. Attorney William McSwain in a press release. "Further, the nature of the defendant's alleged lies—attempting to conceal his affiliation with a white supremacist group in order to obtain federal employment—is extremely disturbing. I want to thank all of our law enforcement partners in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for their excellent work on this investigation."

The investigation of Arena was orchestrated by the FBI, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), Philadelphia police and New Jersey police and prosecutors.

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