Alleged white supremacists charged in Fla.

KISSIMMEE, Fla., May 7 (UPI) -- Seven people are charged with hate crimes in Florida after an investigation into the American Front white supremacist group, officials said.

Local directors of the organization Marcus Faella, Patricia Faella and Mark McGowan were arrested Friday on several charges including providing paramilitary training, the Orange-Osceola County State's Attorney's Office said. Officials described the American Front as a "domestic terrorist organization."

The Osceola County Sheriff's Office helped the FBI arrest the Faellas at their home Friday in a rural area east of Holopaw, Fla., the Orlando Sentinel reported Monday.

"We've been aware of Marcus Faella since 1993 when he was a member of the Confederate Hammerskins, a violent skin head group, and head of the Melbourne chapter," Southern Poverty Law Center spokesman Mark Potok told the newspaper.

Jennifer McGowan, Diane Stevens, Kent McLellan and Paul Jackson were also arrested.

The newspaper said it was not clear what prompted the investigation.