Aryan Prison Gangs and Law Enforcement

[Music] white racist prison gangs are obviously fueled by hatred these are hardened professional gang members the aryan brotherhood of texas is a race-based prison gang and that supremacist belief is that extra unknown factor that most of the other prison gangs don't have why should we care about aryan prison gang members they are violent they heard other inmates they hurt staff typically if a peace officer is interacting with aryan brotherhood of texas depending on their race it may be a very different interaction the criminal enterprise is the main emphasis however within these groups there are individuals that are still highly ideologically motivated they're fueled by hate this makes them even more dangerous than a run-of-the-mill turf-based street gang member or a member of another prison game on march 19 2013 tom clements head of the colorado prison system was shot to death as he opened his front door for who he may have thought was a pizza delivery man authorities believe that the shooter was actually former inmate evan ebel a member of a white supremacist prison gang called the 211 crew two days later evil shot and wounded a sheriff's deputy during a traffic stop in texas and then died after a chase and shootout with law enforcement the 211 crew was founded in 1995 by an inmate in the denver county jail its name is taken from the california penal code 211 for robbery crimes committed by its members both in prison and outside include attempted murder robbery and drug trafficking whether clement's murder was ordered by the 211 crew or if evil acted on his own what is indisputable is that white supremacist prison gangs pose a very real threat to correctional officers and as the gang's activities have continued to expand outside of prison walls the danger has expanded to law enforcement on the streets evil was the second 211 crew member to die during a confrontation with law enforcement within almost a year jeremiah barnum was killed by a colorado police officer in 2012 during a dispute in a parking lot there are many aryan prison gangs active throughout the united states the nazi lowriders the aryan circle the european kindred and public enemy number one but by far the deadliest white supremacist prison gang remains the aryan brotherhood whose members or associates according to estimates have killed at least four police officers and five corrections officers since 1983. the group is also known as a b the brand alice baker 1-2 or the rock for the shamrock tattoo favored by its members it was founded in san quentin prison in 1964. since then it has grown into the most violent and powerful racist prison gang in the country according to federal authorities it has roughly 20 thousand members and associates on both sides of prison walls their crimes include murder bank robbery drug trafficking and extortion the ideal candidate for membership in the aryan brotherhood would be somebody that has demonstrated violence in the past they are willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish their mission they are willing to commit assaults without question whether it be an assault on somebody that's in custody an assault on somebody on the street or an assault against a law enforcement officer who comes in contact with that individual even though the aryan brotherhood originated in california in the early 60s it has spread like a virus virtually everywhere in the united states most of the aryan brotherhood members in the federal system have very close ties to california there is a very close relationship and close communication between the two directing activity the aryan brotherhood of california has a very specific patch the three leaf clover or the shamrock oftentimes a white racist prison gang members will possess ss bolts or lightning bolts lightning bolts that are filled in are in solid form are often an indicator that the individual has committed an assault against another race for the benefit of the organization we've had numerous instances where high-ranking members of the aryan brotherhood have been conducting training for younger members and associates we have these members being videotaped demonstrating gun takeaway techniques we have recovered anatomical diagrams of the human body showing weak points for not only assaults on the street and in prison but contacts with officers showing vulnerabilities of the human body attacking an officer committing a violence assault against an officer is definitely going to establish your reputation within the gang and elevate your status demonstrating that you are down for the aryan brotherhood most of their members are locked down for significant periods of time because they have so much time on their hands these individuals have time to become better criminals in addition there is an emphasis to work on your level of physical fitness members only have to be as physically fit as necessary to outlast an officer that they contact on the street in california as an example our inmate population is well in excess of a hundred thousand of that tens of thousands of those inmates are white with aryan brotherhood our documented membership only numbers several hundred however the several hundred aryan brotherhood members and associates rule that white prison population with an iron fist using fear violence and intimidation as a method of control but that also extends out to the streets in prison the aryan brotherhood has a very structured leadership they operate using a commission or a council of a small number of select individuals that are involved with major decision making however on the street there's no real hierarchy or necessarily a command structure this sometimes will create anarchy with the individual gang members themselves not knowing who to answer to unpredictability potential for violence especially when being contacted by law enforcement other prison gangs have tried to capitalize on the aryan brotherhood's reputation for power and violence in the early 1980s several inmates in the texas prison system formed their own separate organization the aryan brotherhood of texas there are an estimated 3 500 members in that group which is also known as the abt the tip or ace deuce the abt has a long history of violence in 2010 six members or associates were indicted for participating in the murder of a texas man and woman the man allegedly had failed to repay a debt to an abt general in november 2012 34 abt members including four generals were indicted on federal charges that included three murders attempted murder arson robberies assaults and drug trafficking a month later the texas department of public safety issued a statewide warning to law enforcement that the abt was actively planning retaliation against the officers who helped secure those indictments the aryan brotherhood of texas started about 20 years after the aryan brotherhood out of california their official patch is very different than california the texans typically use a shield with a dagger it will have lightning bolts and it will also have the letters a b and usually of texas somewhere in there one of the identifiers that we see commonly is the numbers 112 with a percent sign after it it basically represents i'm 100 percent a b one for the a two for the b the aryan brotherhood of texas has a hierarchy that is in place to control the actions of the group texas is divided into five regions so we have five generals they come together and this group is typically known as the wheel most of our wheel members are not incarcerated some of them go to jail but most of them aren't in jail for life the top shot caller guys in the aryan brotherhood of texas need to have the ability to move about the guys on the outside are doing the bidding of the wheel these are typically criminals who have been through the system quite frequently a lot of them use narcotics a lot of them use methamphetamine and a lot of them really like firearms these are dangerous guys if they feel like they have the upper hand they're more than likely going to try to either flee or they're going to do what they need to do to get out of the situation the aryan brotherhood of texas has a reputation for retaliating against their own members and law enforcement officers as well a lot of times when these guys have been involved in different investigations that have resulted in quite a few indictments the rhetoric starts heating up we start hearing that these guys are looking to make moves against officers or members of the court the younger recruits coming into these white supremacist organizations have a much better understanding of technology these guys are wired in to the world as it is so this is opening new avenues these guys are getting involved in identity theft they're getting involved in white-collar crime and the other issue that it brings up is the capabilities for counter intelligence these people will be able to use the internet and other sources to get information regarding law enforcement district attorneys judges and other people within the criminal justice system it's become increasingly apparent that the aryan prison gangs are not just a prison problem they are everybody's problem they have influence in communities across the country groups such as aryan brotherhood airing brotherhood of texas the nazi low riders aryan circle public enemy number one aryan warriors european kindred they all have a proven criminal track record everything from murder to narcotics many of the groups will have a specific tattoo or patch that that inmate earns or that offender earns and the act of getting that patch is called making their bones and and they will will do anything they can to get that patch whether it's hurting staff hurting other inmates they are proud of it you can be assured that that aryan brotherhood patch was earned most likely from committing a violent assault attacking a member of another race or attacking law enforcement which is one of the quickest ways for a member to gain status you want to look at the totality of the tattoos just because an inmate or offender has a swastika tattooed on their person doesn't necessarily mean they're a member of one of these aryan racist gangs look for numbers look for initials for example a b f f a b stands for aryan brotherhood forever forever aryan brotherhood that may be in conjunction with another tattoo a swastika or some lightning bolts nazi low riders have their own symbol would be nlr you've got aryan circle then it typically will have ac in it somewhere european kindred you'll see 511 utilized by that group for letters in the alphabet which stand for e and k most of your aryan prison gangs and security threat groups will have some type of bylaws or rules bylaws will typically have history information they'll have rank and structure they'll oftentimes have codes you're gathering this information can be very important it can be used in a correctional setting to manage that inmate they can be used in a criminal prosecution as evidence it can be used to learn about their methods once you are a patch member of one of these groups you know usually it doesn't stop when you're released you will you will support the group from outside on the streets oftentimes you're asked to carry their messages to provide financial support to run background checks on inmates for possible extortion you know threats assaults one of the problematic issues when encountering these individuals is that they are oftentimes poorly documented white racist gang members specifically are highly mobile they're committing crimes in multiple jurisdictions they cross state lines and based upon the fact that they attempt to avoid identification they pose an extreme risk to an officer many times these members communicate better than we do in law enforcement that's why it's important for law enforcement and corrections staff to share information have dialogue with one another when coming into contact with known or suspected aryan prison gang members correctional staff and law enforcement should be aware of four things first protect yourself be aware of your surroundings gather as much information and intelligence as possible and lastly make sure you do something with that information get it to the proper authorities so they can follow up with it whether operating behind bars or out in the open prison gangs fueled by racist ideology can pose a serious threat to law enforcement hopefully recognizing their signs symbols and beliefs will help keep you and the public safe why do we care if they're in a gang at all because you know as police officers we're always looking to make arrests and to get as much out of that arrest as possible whatever kind of case it is we can prove that guy's a gang member you know you're gonna you're gonna increase this penalty one degree so just that by itself is good what a lot of officers don't understand is that person is a gang member he's a gang member in prison he's a gang member on the streets they're they're still doing the exact same thing they're committing the criminal acts they're a member of the gang it doesn't matter inside outside you know these guys don't uh um you know just sit around and uh you know play cards all day they they're involved in activity violent acts [Music] you

Channel: Southern Poverty Law Center

Views: 2,314,184

Keywords: splc, Southern Poverty Law Center (Organization), law enforcement, cops, crime, police, security, hate, aryan, prison gangs, violence

Id: RH1trqiEl4c

Length: 15min 11sec (911 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 20 2013