Aryan Circle

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Aryan Circle is an American street gang founded in 1985 as a Texas prison gang. The association of white supremacists sees itself as a separatist movement . In 1999 the gang had grown to about 1,400 members in several states and is considered a criminal organization in the United States and not limited to the prisons.

Emergence

The Aryan Circle was founded in Texas in 1985 as an alternative to the much older Aryan Brotherhood . Like its larger predecessor, the secret society primarily served to protect white members against black and Hispanic gangs. Mark Cooper Gaspard started the gang while incarcerated in Huntsville Jail. The rules and the separatist orientation of the club also go back to him. Due to the change within the Aryan Circle, their founder Mark Cooper finally separated from them and now leads a normal country life. Initially perceived as a small group, the gang expanded rapidly in the 1990s, which the Texas Department of Corrections misjudged. Conflicts with other gangs meant that cells in various prisons were no longer allowed to be opened.

A major dispute with the Mexican Mafia in the Texas Department of Corrections, in the course of which there were 13 murders, was settled by a 1996 peace treaty. The Aryan Brotherhood is also perceived as a rival. Outside of Texas, the two gangs also fight. A peace treaty was signed in 2000, which continues to this day. There was also a prison war with the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan , which began in 1997 with an attempted murder of the Vice President of Aryan Circle and culminated in the murder of a senior Ku Klux Klan member.

At the beginning of the 2000s, several members were also spotted in prisons outside of Texas, although this is largely not perceived as a threat because of their small number. Outside of Texas, the gang is now prevalent in prisons in Arkansas , Tennessee , Louisiana , Oklahoma , Missouri , Oregon , Wisconsin, and Indiana . The gang also began to make a name for itself as a street gang. In particular, dismissed members and the women's branch are active as so-called “street members”. Their number is estimated at around 150.

In 2008, Billy “Thumper” Haynes was elected as the new national president. A controversial decision that led to numerous fights, particularly in federal prisons.

organization

At the beginning, also to protect themselves from the prison authorities, the individual members identified themselves via a tattoo, a small circle below the chest. This so-called “patch” was later supplemented with a special swastika and the letter “AC” in a diamond . Inmates with short sentences are usually recruited to strengthen the network outside the prison. The member has to undergo a twelve-month trial period as a "prospect". During this time he must in any case commit physical harm to an enemy of the gang. He is then taken into the aisle and given the tattoo (becomes the “patch holder”). Joining is considered a lifelong commitment. If the member wants to leave the gang or is thrown out, his tattoos are removed (“blood out”).

The gang is organized in a very hierarchical manner. There is a so-called "Upper Board" with the regional president, the vice-president and the chairman. Starting from this, there are four branches ("branches"), which depend on the area in which the gangs are deployed: Texas has its own branch, the other branches are federal and state prisons, as well as outside the prisons. At this middle level, the presidents and vice-presidents of the respective branches join the “Upper Board”. All regulations are agreed here and passed on below. This hierarchy level is also known as the “Center Ring” or “Crazy Folks”. Downstairs are the “majors” or “leafs” for each prison who give instructions to their respective captains.

The gang also runs a women's organization, the Aryan Circle Women's Branch. There the women are gathered whose partners are in prisons or who look after the imprisoned members. In contrast to many other gangs, the women's sector has equal rights. Women can become full members and are often found in higher positions.

ideology

The Aryan Circle sees itself as a separatist organization that rejects any kind of racial mixing. The ideological starting point of the gang was written by Danny "Danny Boy" Lee Bonham. The magazine "The Circular", which is based in Carnegie , Oklahoma and has a mailing address in Lubbock , Texas, is used for ideological training . Norman Smith's “14 Whys” are also important. The 14 questions that he published in this leaflet are based on the 14 Words by David Eden Lane .

The Aryan Circle sees itself as an organization that believes in the self-preservation of races. In 2002 the gang formulated the following goal in its constitution:

“We are a racially aware group of individuals who believe [sic] in the true history, culture, and heritage of the White Race, we strive for the best interest of our race, will put the interests of our race before the interest of others , and believe in the idea of ​​self-preservation !!! "

“We are a racially conscious group of individuals who believe in the true history, culture and heritage of the White Race. We fight for the interests of our race, we put the interests of our race before the interests of others and believe in the power of self-preservation. "

- Aryan Circle : The Aryan Circle. Crime in the Name of Hate

The ideology consists of many set pieces of the "white supremacy" idea and is understood by many members as a family. In addition to the “14 Words”, the ideology also includes the literature of other racist groups, such as the Turner diaries by William Luther Pierce or the memoirs of David Duke , but also more complex works such as William Gayley Simpson's Which Way Western Man .

membership

The Anti-Defamation League collected a number of membership data about the gang in 2009. Most of the members are “ Caucasians ” according to the racist orientation , but a small number is also composed of descendants of Native Americans . The average age for men was 31.9 years and for women 28.8 years. The vast majority of the members come from undereducated sections of the working class . Outside the prisons, the members mostly work in low-paying jobs, the women either as housewives or in the service sector.

Criminal activity

Criminal activity of the Circle occurs both on the street and in prison. In prison, it involves extortion of protection money, trafficking in illegal goods, drug smuggling, bribery and extortion of guards. Outside the prisons, the offenses are mostly robbery and burglary, as well as drug trafficking.

One of the central basic demands of the Aryan Circle is that its members are drug-free. In particular, a “No Drugs Policy” was issued by the highest authority. Contrary to this guideline, 29 members of the Aryan Circle were charged in 2004 with having been involved in a methamphetamine ring.

In April 2006, a member of the Aryan Circle in Kemp stabbed a female gang member suspected of being a police informant.

In 2007, one gang member killed another because he insulted his daughter as a "Mexican whore". In the same year a rogue member was ordered to be murdered, but this resulted in a shootout in which two of the four killers charged with the murder were shot.

Also in 2007, there was a shooting with police officers in Louisiana . Aryan Circle member Dennis Leighton Clem shot dead two teenagers and injured another outside his home in Victoria , Texas . He then fled to Louisiana with his girlfriend Tanya "Little Feather" Smith. When two police officers knocked on his motel door, he shot both officers. To give his girlfriend time to escape, he engaged in a firefight with the police, in the course of which two paramedics were injured and Clem was shot.

The victims of the violent crimes of the Aryan Circle are mainly Spanish and black prisoners, mostly with gang backgrounds. But homosexuals and transgender people are also seen as enemy images. There were several murders inside and outside prisons.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Anti-Defamation League (Ed.): The Aryan Circle. Crime in the Name of Hate . December 1999, p. 10 ( adl.org [PDF]). The Aryan Circle. Crime in the Name of Hate ( Memento of the original from September 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.adl.org
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Brentin Mock: Vicious Circle. Aryan Circle Blamed for Two Cop Killings . In: Southern Poverty Law Center (Ed.): Intelligence Report . No. 128 , 2007 ( splcenter.org ).
  3. ↑ a b The Aryan Circle. Crime in the Name of Hate . S. 9 .
  4. ^ The Aryan Circle. Crime in the Name of Hate . S. 11 .
  5. ^ The Aryan Circle. Crime in the Name of Hate . S. 14 .
  6. ↑ a b c Gangland Season 5, Episode 8: Circle of Death , 2009
  7. ^ The Aryan Circle. Crime in the Name of Hate . S. 12-13 .
  8. ^ The Aryan Circle. Crime in the Name of Hate . S. 20-21 .
  9. ^ The Aryan Circle. Crime in the Name of Hate, p. 24
  10. ^ The Aryan Circle. Crime in the Name of Hate . S. 23 ff .
  11. ^ The Aryan Circle. Crime in the Name of Hate . S. 18th ff .
  12. ^ The Aryan Circle. Crime in the Name of Hate . S. 28 ff .
  13. ^ The Aryan Circle. Crime in the Name of Hate . S. 33 .