As The Fix recently reported, the Aryan Brotherhood white supremacist prison gang, which relies on heroin dealing to maintain its power, remains strong despite crackdowns against it—and is capable of reaching far beyond prison walls. Now one large regional faction, the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT), is believed to have done just this, with horrifying results. Since a federal racketeering indictment in Houston targeted gang leaders in November, a seemingly retaliatory spate of violence has occurred—including the murders of North Texas District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife last weekend, following those of Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse and Colorado Corrections Director Tom Clements. The fear this has created is reflected by reports yesterday that one federal prosecutor, Jay Hileman, has dropped out of the Houston case due to “security concerns.”
From behind prison walls, locked down in isolation cells 24/7, it seems the ABT’s leaders have been able to orchestrate a campaign of terror against law enforcement. This goes beyond their usual drug-trade scope—even if the ruthlessness involved is typical. “I’ve been locked up with these guys,” one prisoner tells The Fix. “Some of these ABT dudes are psychopaths. They don’t care about nothing except moving drugs, getting respect and making money. If you get in their way, you’re hit.” The ABT reportedly has over 4,000 members in prison and on the streets. “The ABT run Texas, they run the Texas prisons, they are spreading into the feds now,” says the prisoner. “They control all the southern penitentiaries in the feds: USP Beaumont, USP Pollock and others. They got a vice grip on these pens and they are not going to let go.” If the various Aryan Brotherhood groups—estimated to consist of over 15,000 members and associates nationwide—ever succeed in improving their communications and coordination, the impact on law enforcement and prison staff could be devastating.
