Jump to content

Aryan Brotherhood: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m Reverted 2 edits by 129.107.61.99 identified as vandalism to last revision by 128.158.226.66. using TW
Line 34: Line 34:
Until the 1960s, most prisons in the United States were racially [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregated]]. As prisons began to desegregate, inmates organized along racial lines.<ref name=SPLC> citation </ref> The Aryan Brotherhood is believed to have formed in 1964 at [[San Quentin State Prison]].<ref name=ABC> citation</ref> It may have been derived from or inspired by a previous entity, the [[Bluebird Gang]].<ref name=ABC> citation </ref> In the early 1970s, the Aryan Brotherhood began working closely with the [[Mexican Mafia]]<ref name=LAWeekly> citation </ref> and began focusing on drug trafficking and other economic activities.<ref name=ABC> citation </ref><ref name=LAWeekly> citation </ref>
Until the 1960s, most prisons in the United States were racially [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregated]]. As prisons began to desegregate, inmates organized along racial lines.<ref name=SPLC> citation </ref> The Aryan Brotherhood is believed to have formed in 1964 at [[San Quentin State Prison]].<ref name=ABC> citation</ref> It may have been derived from or inspired by a previous entity, the [[Bluebird Gang]].<ref name=ABC> citation </ref> In the early 1970s, the Aryan Brotherhood began working closely with the [[Mexican Mafia]]<ref name=LAWeekly> citation </ref> and began focusing on drug trafficking and other economic activities.<ref name=ABC> citation </ref><ref name=LAWeekly> citation </ref>


In 1973, the California branch of the Aryan Brotherhood rejected [[Charles Manson]] for membership, because he murdered a woman that was pregnant. The Aryan Brotherhood considered this dishonorable and did not want him.
In 1973, the California branch of the Aryan Brotherhood rejected [[Charles Manson]] when he asked for them for protection against black inmates, because he had murdered a pregnant woman. The Aryan Brotherhood considered this dishonorable and turned him down initially. However, the Aryan Brotherhood eventually realized that Manson's followers could be exploited, and the AB began to provide protection for Manson while his followers smuggled drugs and weapons into prisons.

By 1980, the gang had split into two distinct factions, one within the federal prison system and one outside of state prison systems. In 1982, an anonymous source gave information to the FBI implicating the Aryan Brotherhood in two high profile murders in the California state prison system.<ref name=FBI> Federal Bureau of Investigation. [http://foia.fbi.gov/aryanbro/aryanbro1.pdf File 183-7396]. Retrieved 27 October 2006. </ref> The [[Federal Bureau of Investigations|FBI]] investigated the gang and its activities through 1989, but no prosecutions followed.
By 1980, the gang had split into two distinct factions, one within the federal prison system and one outside of state prison systems. In 1982, an anonymous source gave information to the FBI implicating the Aryan Brotherhood in two high profile murders in the California state prison system.<ref name=FBI> Federal Bureau of Investigation. [http://foia.fbi.gov/aryanbro/aryanbro1.pdf File 183-7396]. Retrieved 27 October 2006. </ref> The [[Federal Bureau of Investigations|FBI]] investigated the gang and its activities through 1989, but no prosecutions followed.


Revision as of 07:49, 1 August 2007

Aryan Brotherhood
File:Links.2.gif
An Arizona Aryan coat of arms
Founded by White supremacists
Founding locationSan Quentin State Prison, CaliforniaUnited States
Years active1964 - present
Territoryfederal prison system, California and Arizona State prisonsUnited States
Ethnicity white
Membership (est.)15,000
Criminal activitiesmurder, conspiracy, drug trafficking, racketeering
AlliesMexican Mafia, Public Enemy No.1, Nazi Lowriders, Aryan Nations, Ku Klux Klan
RivalsBlack Guerilla Family, Nuestra Familia, Crips, Bloods, El Rukn, Mara Salvatrucha.

The Aryan Brotherhood, (also known as the AB or The Brand) is a prison gang numbering about 15,000 members in and out of prison.[1] In March 2006, four leaders of the Aryan Brotherhood were indicted for numerous crimes, including murder, conspiracy, drug trafficking, and racketeering.[1] According to the FBI, the gang is responsible for up to 20% of murders in the federal prison system.[2][3]

Organization

The Aryan Brotherhood is separated into two main groups, one in the federal prison system, the other consisting of numerous factions of the Brotherhood in various state prison systems, notably California, which are loosely affiliated to a greater or lesser degree.[3] Each faction is controlled by a three-man commission, which controls and supervises gang activities.[3] These gangs in the state system, splinter groups or copycats, are usually tolerated by members of the federal prison or California factions, but intra-gang violence is not uncommon.

Organization at lower levels varies from prison to prison. For example, in the Arizona prison system, members are known as "kindred" and organize into "families". A "council" controls the families. Kindred may recruit other members, known as "progeny", and serve as a mentor for the new recruit.[4]

Membership generally (though not exclusively)[1] consists of white male prisoners and operates on a "blood in, blood out" system.[2] That is, a candidate for membership of the Aryan Brotherhood must assault and kill another prisoner to enter the gang. Membership is for life, and those who attempt to leave the gang may likewise be assaulted or killed by other members. Members of both the federal and state level organizations swear the same oath: "An Aryan brother is without a care/He walks where the weak and heartless won't dare/For an Aryan brother, death holds no fear/Vengeance will be his, through his brothers still here."[3]

Like most prison gangs, Aryan Brotherhood members mark themselves with distinctive tattoos. Designs commonly include the words "Aryan Brotherhood", the acryonym "AB", 666, SS lightning bolts, spiderwebs near the elbow, shamrocks, and other Nazi and/or Celtic iconography.[2]

Ostensibly organized as a white supremacist group, the AB has since focused on the economic activities typical of organized crime entities, particularly drug trafficking, extortion, and murder-for-hire. According to a recent federal indictment, the Brotherhood has partnered with Asian gangs to import heroin from Thailand. While incarcerated in Marion Federal Penitentiary in 1996, John Gotti is known to have asked Aryan Brotherhood members to murder a fellow prisoner, although the hit was unsuccessful.[2][5]

The overwhelming majority of Aryan Brotherhood members were originally sent to prison for crimes not motivated by racial bigotry, such as robbery, drug dealing, and assault, and join the Aryan Brotherhood out of a need for protection or camaraderie.[3] However, members are expected to continue AB activities after being released, and are known to commit hate crimes after joining the gang.

History

Until the 1960s, most prisons in the United States were racially segregated. As prisons began to desegregate, inmates organized along racial lines.[3] The Aryan Brotherhood is believed to have formed in 1964 at San Quentin State Prison.[1] It may have been derived from or inspired by a previous entity, the Bluebird Gang.[1] In the early 1970s, the Aryan Brotherhood began working closely with the Mexican Mafia[2] and began focusing on drug trafficking and other economic activities.[1][2]

In 1973, the California branch of the Aryan Brotherhood rejected Charles Manson when he asked for them for protection against black inmates, because he had murdered a pregnant woman. The Aryan Brotherhood considered this dishonorable and turned him down initially. However, the Aryan Brotherhood eventually realized that Manson's followers could be exploited, and the AB began to provide protection for Manson while his followers smuggled drugs and weapons into prisons.

By 1980, the gang had split into two distinct factions, one within the federal prison system and one outside of state prison systems. In 1982, an anonymous source gave information to the FBI implicating the Aryan Brotherhood in two high profile murders in the California state prison system.[6] The FBI investigated the gang and its activities through 1989, but no prosecutions followed.

On June 23rd, 2005, after a 20-month investigation, a federal strike force raided six houses in northeastern Ohio belonging to the "Order of the Blood", a criminal organization controlled by the Aryan Brotherhood. Thirty-four Aryan Brotherhood members or associates were arrested and warrants were issued for ten more.[3]

Also in 2005, culminating an eight year investigation, federal prosecutors indicted forty members of the organization, thirty of whom were already incarcerated, for a wide variety of crimes. Prosecuting the gang has been historically difficult, because many members are already serving life sentences with no possibility of parole, so prosecutors were seeking the death penalty for twenty-one of those indicted but have dropped the death penalty on all but five defendants. By September of that year, the nineteen indictees not eligible for the death penalty had plead guilty.[3] The first of a series of trials involving four high level members ended in convictions in July of 2006. Two of the four went through a death penalty hearing and the jury deadlocked. Before sentencing federal prosecutors filed a request that once the sentencing was over, the four would live out their sentences in solitary confinement, banned from communicating with anyone except their attorneys. The judge refused to rule on the request, telling prosecutors to file it with the US Attorney General and they immediately withdrew. One was sentenced to four life terms, two were sentenced to three life terms, all without the possibility of parole, and one has yet to be sentenced. Some members are still awaiting trial.

Relations with other gangs

The Aryan Brotherhood has had a close relationship with the Mexican Mafia since the early 1970s. The gang also has close ties to biker gangs, and non-AB White supremacist prison gangs, such as Public Enemy No.1 and the Nazi Lowriders. The AB is believed to have links with active White nationalist groups, such as the Aryan Nations and Ku Klux Klan, as well as various other groups espousing the theology of Christian Identity).[3]

Because of their alliance with the Mexican Mafia, the Aryan Brotherhood is antagonistic towards the Mafia's rivals, such as Nuestra Familia and Mara Salvatrucha. They are also hostile towards all gangs with a predominantly nonwhite membership, such as the Black Guerilla Family, the Crips, the Bloods, El Rukn, and Mara Salvatrucha.

Notable Aryan Brotherhood members

David Clay Lind

David Clay Lind (b 1938, d. 1995) was perhaps the most famous and yet perplexing member of the Brotherhood. Lind was a member of the widely feared Wonderland Gang, which was brutally extinguished in a quadruple murder in 1981, which has come to be known as the Wonderland Murders. In a move uncharacteristic for a Brother, Lind fully cooperated with police during their prosecution of pornographic film star Mr. John Curtis Holmes as well as Hollywood impressario Eddie Nash (a.k.a. Adel Nasrallah) from 1982 through 1991. Despite Lind's cooperation with authorities and testimony in open court, both Holmes and Nash were fully acquitted. Lind died in 1995, from an overdose of heroin.

Lind's close friendship with persons close to California Governor Jerry Brown's capitol tends to belie the belief that the Aryan Brotherhood is strictly a criminal organization and not one involved in politics at any level. This contact could be why Lind was let into the witness protection program so easily.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Coverson, Laura. "Aryan Brotherhood Tried for 40 Years of Prison Mayhem". ABC News. 15 March 2006. Retrieved 27 October 2006. Cite error: The named reference "ABC" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d e f Duersten, Matthew. "Who'll Stop the Reign?". LA Weekly. 3 February 2005. Retrieved 27 October 2006. Cite error: The named reference "LAWeekly" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Holthouse, David. "Smashing the Shamrock". SPLC Intelligence Report. Fall 2005. Retrieved 27 October 2006. Cite error: The named reference "SPLC" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ Arizona Department of Corrections. "Arizona Aryan Brotherhood". Retrieved 27 October 2006.
  5. ^ Hughes, Jim. "Aryan Brotherhood Makes Home in State". Denver Post. 24 November 2002. Retrieved 27 October 2006.
  6. ^ Federal Bureau of Investigation. File 183-7396. Retrieved 27 October 2006.

Template:White supremist organizations

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aryan_Brotherhood&oldid=148453413"