White Supremacist Prison Gangs in the United States | Page 2

Introduction
With rising numbers and an increasing geographical spread, for some years white supremacist prison gangs have constituted the fastest-growing segment of the white supremacist movement in the United States. While some other segments, such
as neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan, have suffered stagnation or even decline, white supremacist prison gangs have steadily
been growing in numbers and reach, accompanied by a related rise in crime and violence.
What is more, though they are called “prison gangs,” gangs like the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, Aryan Circle, European
Kindred and others, are just as active on the streets of America as they are behind bars. They plague not simply other
inmates, but also local communities across the United States, from California to New Hampshire, Washington to Florida.
For example, between 2000 and 2015, one single white supremacist prison gang, the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, was
responsible for at least 33 murders in communities across Texas. Behind these killings were a variety of motivations,
including traditional criminal motives, gang-related murders, internal killings of suspected informants or rules-breakers,
and hate-related motives directed against minorities.
These murders didn’t take place behind bars—they occurred in the streets, homes and businesses of cities and towns
across the Lone Star State. When people hear the term “prison gang,” they often assume that such gang members
plague only other prisoners, or perhaps also corrections personnel. They certainly do represent a threat to inmates, many
of whom have fallen prey to their violent attacks. And they pose a high risk to corrections officials—in fact, in 2013, a
member of the white supremacist 211 Crew actually assassinated Tom Clements, the head of the Colorado Department
of Corrections. But the fact is that more and more white supremacist prison gang activity—from drug dealing to home
invasions to hate crimes to murders—takes place on the streets of American communities rather than behind bars.
Moreover, there is no shortage of such gangs. In this preliminary inventory of white supremacist prison gangs, the Anti-Defamation League has identified nearly 100 white supremacist gangs operating in one or more states (the exact number is
hard to determine, because sometimes separate gangs share the same name). At least 35 states have at least one white
supremacist gang operating in their borders and most states have to deal with multiple such gangs.
Taking into account both street and prison activity, some states seem to have a particular problem with white supremacist
prison gangs. Texas, with two of the largest such gangs in the country (Aryan Brotherhood of Texas and Aryan Circle), and
California, with its endemic white supremacist gang problem overall, are probably the two states with the most serious
problems, but other problem states include Oklahoma, Indiana, Missouri, Oregon, and Tennessee.
Not only are these gangs numerous, they tend to be large. While some gangs have no more than a few dozen members,
the largest gangs have over 500 members (the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas is estimated to have more than 2,000). Even
these numbers sometimes underestimate the true scope of such groups because, although the majority of such gangs
do not allow women as formal members, women actually play an important role in most of them. Additionally, there are
other hangers-on and associates who, while not formal (“fully-patched”) members of such gangs, nevertheless also play
a role in their violence and crime.
The growth and spread of these white supremacist gangs has become one of the United States’ most serious—
but least talked about—white supremacist problems.
This is a two-part report. The first part of the report consists of the results of ADL’s preliminary survey of white supremacist gangs active in the United States today. Following the survey is an overview of white supremacist prison gangs that
gives insight into their rise, nature and activities.

1 White Supremacist Prison Gangs in the United States