Skip to main content icon/video/no-internet
icon backReturn to Entries

Aryan Brotherhood

The Aryan Brotherhood is a violent, male white supremacist prison gang that is affiliated with the national hate-based organization Aryan Nations. The gang is said to follow the principles of “Identity” or “Christian Identity.” Proponents of Christian Identity believe that Armageddon is either upon us or fast approaching when whites and nonwhites must fight to the death in an ultimate “race war.”

Aryan Brotherhood members are involved in extortion and drug operations, predominantly selling methamphetamines in prison. Aryan Brotherhood violence and criminal activity, however, does not just occur behind prison walls. Members of this gang were involved in the murder of James Byrd in Jasper, Texas, the killing of Saselzley Richardson in Elkhart, Indiana, and the dog mauling death of Diane Whipple in San Francisco, California. In prison, as well as posing a risk to others, primarily nonwhite inmates, members of Aryan Brotherhood are also known to be violent toward staff members.

Overview of History and Beliefs

The Aryan Brotherhood is believed to have begun in San Quentin Prison, California, during the 1960s. Since then, membership has spread nationally with known groups in Texas, Florida, Montana, New Mexico, and various other states. The most notorious of them all is the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, or ABT. Aryan Brotherhood members follow a system of rules and regulations, which are set out by the leadership, or “commissions.” Groups known as “councils” oversee daily gang operations.

All members of the Aryan Brotherhood are Caucasian and are either serving or have completed some sort of prison sentence. Many sport neo-Nazi symbols as tattoos including the swastika, Nazi lightning bolts, “AB” (for Aryan Brotherhood), and the number “88” (for “Heil Hitler–since “H” is the eighth letter of the alphabet). Some men also may be tattooed with shamrock clover leafs, and various Celtic symbols to symbolize their Anglo-Saxon roots.

Members of the Aryan Brotherhood believe that whites are superior to all others. They base their ideas in Christian Identity, which they claim is an alternative “religion” based on five main propositions: (1) White people are the Israelites of the Old Testament; (2) those of Jewish descent are the direct offspring of a mating of Eve and Satan; (3) Adam and Eve were the first white people; (4) all non-whites are an entirely different species than whites; and (5) the war between whites and nonwhites, Armageddon, is in the foreseeable future.

How Does the Organization Work?

It is difficult to join the Aryan Brotherhood. Those who wish to take part in the gang are placed on probation for approximately one year. They must also take a “blood in, blood out” oath that usually requires them to commit a violent act such as an aggravated assault or murder in order to be initiated into the gang. Once an individual has joined, he is a member for life. Blood must spill in order to be admitted and released from membership.

There are numerous “outreach” programs funded by other white supremacy groups, which provide smuggled literature to Aryan Brotherhood inmates. These publications include The Way, published by the Aryan Nations; Taking Aim, published by the Militia of Montana; and Jubilee, an Identity-affiliated publication. White supremacy and Christian Identity reading material is widely traded throughout prisons, and members are encouraged to recruit and convert as many white inmates as possible. There are even internal publications penned by inmates for other inmates preaching white supremacy, such as Thule and Prisoner of War.

...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles

Read next

More like this

Sage Recommends

We found other relevant content for you on other Sage platforms.

close

Have you created a personal profile? Login or create a profile so that you can save clips, playlists and searches

close
close
close Signed In to profile You are signed in as:
close
Logged in Institution Institution