Aryan Brotherhood: Profile

Aryan Brotherhood originated in California's San Quentin Prison in the 1960s and has since spread to other prisons throughout the United States. Affiliated with the paramilitary hate group Aryan Nations, Aryan Brotherhood reportedly engages in extortion, drug operations and violence in correctional facilities; many members bear the identifying tattoo of a swastika and the Nazi SS lightning bolt. Aryan Nations also publishes The Way, a newsletter geared toward prisoners.

The 1987 inaugural issue of that publication described its purpose as being "to provide a good source of Bible study into the Israel Identity message and its related histories and politics for convicts, while also providing news and happenings of concern to our chained brothers and sisters."
Aryan Brotherhood is not known to be as systematically organized as other prison gangs (such as the Bloods, Crips or the Mexican Mafia), but its reputation for violence is well documented. In April 1997, John Stojetz, an Aryan Brotherhood leader at an Ohio prison, was convicted of murdering a 17-year-old Black prisoner. In October 1994, Donald Riley, a member of the Brotherhood, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder in Houston of a Black marine who had recently returned from service in Desert Storm. Moreover, of the eight inmates murdered by fellow prisoners at the Pelican Bay State Prison in California since 1996, six have been linked to an internal war within Aryan Brotherhood. A local prosecutor characterized the situation at the prison as a "reign of terror." In Pelican Bay's Security Housing Unit, there are reported to be up to 50 inmates who are members of the group.
Aryan Brotherhood members, like other White Supremacist Gangs like the NLR, Aryan Nations and Skinheads will utilize Runic Alphabet like the one depicted below to write coded messagfes or coded graffiti when communicating.  They believe the alphabet to be Nordic or Aryan in origin.

Other racist groups have emerged from behind bars as well. One of the men charged with Byrd's  murder reportedly has a Klan tattoo depicting the lynching of a Black man, and another that reads  "C.K.A.," which stands for Confederate Knights of America. C.K.A. is a small white supremacist prison gang in Texas penitentiaries.

Like Aryan Brotherhood, the white supremacist gang Nazi Low Riders (NLR) originated inside the California prison system, but also has active members beyond penitentiary walls. Nevertheless, serving a prison term appears to be a requirement for membership. The gang is controlled by the "seniors," all of whom have been NLR members for at least five years and are voted in by other seniors. Only seniors can induct new members, and are responsible for educating the members they recruit. There is reason to believe that Aryan Brotherhood aligned itself with NLR in the late 1970s or early 1980s, when the California Department of Corrections began cracking down on Aryan Brotherhood members, many of whom ended up isolated from the rest of the prison population because of their gang ties. NLR remained a separate gang, but helped promote Aryan Brotherhood's interests within the prison system.

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