Craig Austin Lang, a former U.S. soldier extradited from Ukraine, has made his first court appearance in Florida following allegations of an “international crime spree.”
Craig Lang, 34, who once fought with a volunteer battalion against Russian separatists in Ukraine, faces charges including murder, robbery, passport fraud, and aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Craig Lang, originally from Surprise, Arizona, was dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 2014. He joined the far-right Ukrainian nationalist group Right Sector in 2016, where he met fellow ex-soldier Alex Jared Zwiefelhofer, now 27.
The two allegedly attempted to join the fight against al-Shabab in East Africa but were deported back to the U.S. due to improper travel documents.
In April 2018, Craig Austin Lang and Zwiefelhofer regrouped in Florida, planning to travel to Venezuela to join the armed conflict against the government. To fund their trip, they allegedly advertised guns for sale, attracting 53-year-old Serafin Lorenzo. The following day, Lorenzo and his wife were found dead with gunshot wounds.
Craig Lang, who pleaded not guilty during his court appearance, had been resisting extradition since 2019. However, the European Court of Human Rights rejected his legal challenge last November, leading to his return to the U.S. to face multiple charges across three states.
Zwiefelhofer was convicted on related charges in March. The Justice Department’s criminal division chief, Nicole M. Argentieri, described Lang’s alleged actions as shocking and showing a callous disregard for human life.
