Cape Canaveral man linked to neo-Nazi group arrested, was part of Orlando demonstration

A 48-year-old man who state investigators said hung a banner with swastikas and white power and anti-Semitic slogans over Interstate 4 in Orlando has been arrested.

Three additional warrants for other demonstrators from out of state were also issued in connection with the June 10 demonstration seen by thousands of motorists, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported. The warrants were issued Tuesday.

Jason James Brown, 48, of Cape Canaveral, who authorities say is a member of the extremist group Order of the Black Sun, was charged with criminal mischief, a misdemeanor. Investigators said he placed the banner using zip ties over an eastbound railing of the major traffic artery in Orlando without permission.

Agents with FDLE and the Orange County sheriff's office found a video labeled "Disney Shock & Awe" and found Brown and the others dressed in military camouflage, carrying the banners, according to the arrest warrant.

“Florida is a law-and-order state. Today’s arrest demonstrates Florida’s commitment to protecting residents from attention-seeking extremists,” said Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Executive Director Dave Kerner. Kerner credited Gov. Ron DeSantis with signing a new law into effect that prohibited such images from placing such symbols as the swastika on buildings or other structures without permission.

The arrests come as the extremists' actions, hanging swatiska-emblazoned banners over roadways and shouting ethnic slurs at motorists in and around Orlando — in some cases, near the entrances to Disney World — draw more national attention.

Organizations like the Anti-Defamation League, which monitor extremist groups, say such demonstrations are growing in number as neo-Nazis and others seek to expand their ideological reach. Brown was noted by Florida Highway Patrol and FDLE agents as one of the demonstrators who stood along the Daryl Carter Parkway Bridge in Orlando displaying the hate symbols.

More: Brevard men connected to Neo-Nazi group following violent Orange County protest, remain jailed

The arrest also comes after anti-Semitic materials were found tossed along yards in the West Melbourne area, an act that has been seen in other communities across Brevard in recent years. No arrests have been made in the West Melbourne case.

Brown has a history of being involved with neo-Nazi sympathizers, court records show. Last year, Brown was one of two self-described neo-Nazi group members booked into the Brevard County Jail Complex. The pair was arrested in connection with an anti-Semitic demonstration that turned violent in Orange County.

Both Joshua Terrell, 46, and Brown, then 47, were charged in connection with the Jan. 29, 2022, demonstration along Alafaya Trail and Waterford Lakes Parkway, where a Jewish motorist was targeted.

More: Man linked to alt-right movement extradited to South Carolina from Brevard

Orange County sheriff’s investigators said Brown and two others were part of a group of 20 demonstrators, with some wearing Nazi insignias and yelling anti-Semitic slurs at passing cars. Brown was also seen on video shouting anti-Semitic slurs on a megaphone, reports show. The second person arrested, Terrell, was described as being homeless but living in Cape Canaveral, reports show. The outcome of that case was not immediately known.

If convicted in the latest case, Brown could face up to a year in jail.

Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641, jdgallop@floridatoday.com and Twitter @JDGallop