The Aryan Brotherhood originated in California's San Quentin Prison in
the 1960s and has since spread to other prisons throughout the United
States. It engages in extortion, drug operations and violence in
correctional facilities.
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.
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.
Like Aryan Brotherhood, NLR rallies its members around standard racist
propaganda and rhetoric that bolster "white pride" while blaming Jews,
Blacks and other minorities for most of the problems in America. Still,
their activity is not limited to race-baiting: NLR members reportedly
seek to dominate a significant portion of the prison drug trade and
other criminal activity within the white penitentiary population.
Outside of prisons, NLR members are involved in drug trafficking
(especially methamphetamine, or speed) and have been responsible for a
number of random attacks on Blacks.