DOJ Wraps Up the Largest Case Against White Supremacist Gangs in History

Brittany M. Hughes | August 14, 2017
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Just two days after white supremacists rallied in Charlottesville, Va., in a violent clash that left a 32-year-old woman and two police officers dead, the Department of Justice announced they have completed the largest case targeting white supremacist gang members in the nation’s history.

During the more than two-year case, 91 members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas and Aryan Circle were arrested and charged with various drug crimes, of which 89 were ultimately convicted. The final defendant, 29-year-old Jeramy Weatherall of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced last Thursday to 20 years in prison for one count of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

DOJ officials announced in a statement:

The defendants were members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT), the Aryan Circle, the “Irish Mob,” the “Dirty White Boys,” the “White Knights,” and the “Peckerwood” – all of which are violent white supremacist gangs. Each of these gangs is an organized crime group, but in recent years, the white supremacy ideology of each of these groups has taken a backseat to traditional criminal ventures, such as drug-dealing. The defendants in this case included several high-ranking members of these organizations.

The DOJ noted that collectively, the defendants were found guilty of possessing 956 kilograms (about 2,108 pounds) of methamphetamine with a street value of at least $10 million, along with 88 firearms and dangerous weapons.

Justice Department officials reported that the 89 defendants had been previously convicted of a collective 736 crimes, 234 of which were drug-related offenses. Another 76 were violent offenses, 36 were gun offenses, 37 were burglaries, seven were sex or child abuse offenses; and one was a murder conviction.

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