Aryan Brotherhood

Not to be confused with Aryan Brotherhood of Texas.

Aryan Brotherhood
Founded1964; 60 years ago (1964)[1]
Founding locationSan Quentin State Prison, California, United States[1]
Years active1964–present
TerritoryWest Coast, Southwestern U.S., and throughout the federal prison system[2]
EthnicityWhite American[2]
Membership (est.)20,000[3]
ActivitiesMurder, assault, drug trafficking, robbery, gambling, extortion, racketeering, arms trafficking, inmate prostitution, human trafficking, dog fighting[4][5]
Allies
Rivals
Notable members

The Aryan Brotherhood (AB or The Brand) is a neo-Nazi prison gang and an organized crime syndicate that is based in the United States and has an estimated 15,000–20,000 members both inside and outside prisons. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has characterized it as "the nation's oldest major white supremacist prison gang and a national crime syndicate"[3] while the Anti-Defamation League calls it the "oldest and most notorious racist prison gang in the United States".[15] According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Aryan Brotherhood makes up an extremely low percentage of the entire US prison population, but it is responsible for a disproportionately large number of prison murders.[16][need quotation to verify][page needed]

The gang has focused on the economic activities which organized crime entities typically engage in, particularly drug trafficking, extortion, inmate prostitution, and murder-for-hire. The organization of its whites-only membership varies from prison to prison but it is generally hierarchical, headed by a twelve-man council which is topped by a three-man commission. The Aryan Brotherhood uses various terms, symbols, and images in order to identify itself, including shamrocks, swastikas, and other symbols. In order to join the Aryan Brotherhood, new members may swear a blood oath or take a pledge; acceptance into the Aryan Brotherhood is aided by a prospect's willingness to kill another inmate.

  1. ^ a b Coverson, Laura (March 15, 2006). "Aryan Brotherhood Tried for 40 Years of Prison Mayhem". ABC News. Archived from the original on March 12, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2006.
  2. ^ a b c Prison Gangs justice.gov (May 11, 2015)
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference splc-groupdef was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ ""Blood In, Blood Out: The Violent Empire of the Aryan Brotherhood", Crime Magazine". Crimemagazine.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Montaldo, Charles (2014). "The Aryan Brotherhood: Profile of One of the Most Notorious Prison Gangs". About.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  6. ^ "Aryan Prison Gang Links with Mafia Drugs, Money & the Gambinos". Daily News. November 3, 2002. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  7. ^ Reputed Aryan Brotherhood Gang Member Convicted of Murders of Three Men in Massachusetts Bill Marlin, Southern Poverty Law Center (May 16, 2014)
  8. ^ Hell's Angels: Masters of Menace Howard Kohn, Rolling Stone (April 5, 1979) Archived December 16, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Stroud, Sara (December 21, 2008). "Alleged shooter had gang ties". Vallejo Times-Herald. Archived from the original on August 20, 2017.
  10. ^ Clay, Nolan (September 16, 2015). "Deadly disturbance at private prison involved white gangs, officials say". Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  11. ^ "The Nazi Low Riders - NLR". About.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  12. ^ "Racist gang caught in sting kept a list of Orange County police targets". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. December 17, 2006. Archived from the original on May 12, 2012.
  13. ^ Marked for Death Alan Prendergast, Westword (May 25, 2000) Archived June 8, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Florida Department of Corrections. "Prison Gangs (continued) - Gangs and Security Threat Group Awareness". Florida Department of Corrections. Archived from the original on March 12, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  15. ^ "Aryan New York Aryan Brotherhood member Brian Barrow 3rd in Command on the East coast reigns terror as an Enforcer status active 2022 NC prison system". Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on August 22, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  16. ^ "FBI Records: The Vault – Aryan Brotherhood". Federal Bureau of Investigation.