Final Aryan Circle White Supremacy Gang Member Sentenced to Prison for RICO Conspiracy

A Missouri man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations (RICO) charges stemming from his membership in the Aryan Circle (AC), a white supremacy prison gang.

According to court documents, Timothy Long, aka Timmy, of Mountain Grove, was a member of the AC, a violent, race-based, and prison-based gang with hundreds of members operating inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout the country. The AC enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects, and associates through threats, intimidation, and acts of violence including murder, kidnapping, and narcotics trafficking. Members are required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members without question.

“This is the final sentencing in a multi-jurisdictional, multi-agency effort to dismantle the Aryan Circle, which terrorized local communities and perpetuated a cycle of gang violence in federal prisons for far too long,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This case represents the Justice Department’s continued dedication to working with our partners across the country to pursue and eradicate criminal enterprises like the AC.”

In 2018, as part of his membership in the AC, Long stabbed two separate victims while all were housed at U.S. Penitentiary (USP) Lee, a federal prison in Lee County, Virginia. Long stabbed each victim at the direction of AC leadership as retaliation for an attack on a higher-ranking member of the AC by a rival white supremacist gang.

“Violent gangs like the Aryan Circle present a growing threat to our communities in the Eastern District of Texas and the type of violence associated with these organizations is alarming,” said U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs for the Eastern District of Texas. “The Eastern District of Texas will continue to investigate and prosecute those who do harm to others. And we’ll specifically target the leaders of these violent gangs.”

In 2022, two of Long’s co-defendants, AC leaders William Glenn Chunn and Jesse Blankenship, were both sentenced to life in prison for RICO conspiracy and related racketeering charges.

Trial Attorney Rebecca Dunnan of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Rapp for the Eastern District of Texas prosecuted the case.

Tweet

Aryan Circle Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Violent Criminal Assault in Aid of Racketeering

A member of the Aryan Circle (AC) gang pleaded guilty to committing an assault, resulting in serious bodily injury to the victim in aid racketeering. The announcement came from Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Jeffrey B. Jensen of the Eastern District of Missouri.

Daniel B. Jerome, 31, of Wentzville, Missouri, committed aggravated assault on a fellow AC gang member in Jefferson County, Missouri, on Nov. 9, 2013. According to the plea agreement, Jerome participated in a “patch-burning,” which included violently assaulting the victim and removing the victim’s gang tattoo using a burning log. Sentencing for Jerome has been scheduled for Aug. 7, 2019, before U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White for the Eastern District of Missouri.

The plea agreement states that the AC is a powerful race-based, multi-state organization that operates inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout Missouri, Texas, Louisiana and the United States. The AC was established in the mid-1980s within the Texas prison system (TDCJ). In recent years, the AC’s structure and influence expanded to rural and suburban areas throughout Missouri, Texas and Louisiana. The AC emerged as an independent organization during a period of turmoil within the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT). The AC was relatively small in comparison to other prison-based gangs, but grew in stature and influence within TDCJ in the 1990s, largely through violent conflict with other gangs, white and non-white alike.

Tweet

White Supremacist Gangs Including Aryan Circle, Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, Aryan Brotherhood, & Dirty White Boys; Run Violent Drug Rings via Organized Crime Groups

Dozens of white supremacist gang members were selling methamphetamine and other illegal narcotics across Texas in a violent organized crime ring, the Department of Justice announced Monday. Officials said they charged 57 members of white supremacist gangs with kidnapping and drug conspiracies. More than 190 kilograms of methamphetamine, 31 firearms and $376,587 in cash was seized during the investigation.

The suspects were members of such groups as Aryan Circle, the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, the Aryan Brotherhood and the Dirty White Boys, officials said. The drug operation operated from October 2015 through April 2018. Officials said they took down 42 of the suspects in an operation last week, while nine others were already in custody at the time on unrelated charges. Six of the suspects remained at large.

“Not only do white supremacists gangs subscribe to a repugnant, hateful ideology, they also engage in significant, organized and violent criminal activity,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement. “Under the Trump administration, the Department of Justice has targeted every violent criminal gang member in the United States. The quantities of drugs, guns, and money seized in this case are staggering."

Tweet