1. 1
Running Header: Prison Gangs (STG’s)
A Review of Top Security Threat Groups in Our Prisons:
Aryan Brotherhood, Ku Klux Klan, Folks, Nation of Islam, and MS 13
Elizabeth Hall
Kaplan University
CJ130-02 Introduction to Corrections
Amy Ng
10/26/2010

2. Prison Gangs (STG’s) 2
Aryan Brotherhood, Ku Klux Klan, Folks, Nation of Islam, and MS 13
Introduction
In our prison environments, there are many kinds of threats to inmate and officer safety
daily. Bartollas (2002) notes that order is a “dynamic social equilibrium”, and is the basis for
violence or non-violence in the prisons, depending on how well it is maintained. The
correctional system in our country contains within the walls, connected to our streets, many
gangs. These groups, known as Security Threat Groups (STG’s) are usually operated on a racial
bias, and are active in our Federal Bureau of Prisons and in at least 40 state correctional systems.
Inmates are often forced to join their racial group or gang rather to ensure their personal safety
within the walls. (Bartollas, 2002)
In the 1980,s and 1990’s, inmates were more racially biased than ever before, and each
race in a facility had a leader if not more than one. Inmates isolate themselves from other racial
groups notes the Anti-defamation League (2009). While this was producing more racial tension
in the environment, it was also producing STG’s that were getting more organized and adept at
running the drug trade and social environments within the walls of correctional facilities. Some
of these gangs are more organized than others are, and produce the most followers. Because of
organizational factors and growing numbers of members, the Aryan Brotherhood, Ku Klux Klan,
the Folks, the Nation of Islam, and MS13 have emerged as our biggest security group threats in
the American corrections system. (Bartollas, 2002)
Aryan Brotherhood
Originating in San Quentin in the mid-sixties, founded by Barry Mills and Tyler Bingham
(Broder, 2006), this group is one of the best-known gangs with many factions in our correctional
facilities (Anti-defamation League, 2009). This gang originated to protect white criminals from

3. Prison Gangs (STG’s) 3
black prisoners at the time that prisons were desegregating. Malcolm X and the civil rights
movement had the black inmates trying to gain power in the prisons. This gang is located
primarily in the southwest and pacific areas of the country (Narcotics Digest Weekly, 2005), and
is weakest in the northeastern areas where black racial gangs are the strongest.
The Aryan Brotherhood (2010) website- Stormfront proclaims, “We are a community of
White Nationalists. There are thousands of organizations promoting the interests, values, and
heritage of non-Whites. We promote ours.” The creed of the Brotherhood is according to
Barnhart (2009), “I will stand by my brother. My brother will come before all others. My life is
forfeited should I fail my brother. I will honor my brother in peace and war.” He also notes that
their members are lifetime members who commit to a blood in, blood out oath. This means
usually that in order to become a member you must kill an enemy, and the only way out of the
Brotherhood is death. The tough Irish nationality that was required for membership in the earlier
days of the gang have been relaxed to accept all white people in the past decades. (Federal
Bureau of Investigation, 1998).
Most members support the white nationalist model, but from their actions, crime is the
real motivator and support for the group. Members are charged, as far back as 1982 and still
currently, with racketeering, murder for hire contracts, narcotics trafficking, gambling, extortion,
and the illegal prison sex trade, and racial hate crimes consistent with the white supremacist
credo (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1998). The group, divided into two factions operates
both in the Federal Bureau of Prisons and at the state level. They operate in a fashion consistent
with organized crime. Beginning as a local prison gang, the Aryan Brotherhood have grown into
one of the most dangerous gangs in our prisons today, with ties to the Mexican Mafia, and Asian
gangs originating in Thailand. These gang ties help fuel their growing narcotics trade. Members

4. Prison Gangs (STG’s) 4
are expected to carry out these crimes within the walls and to continue the activities to further the
interests of the group upon release. It would also seem that the Aryan Brotherhood has close ties
to the non-prison security threat group the Ku Klux Klan due to the doctrinal similarities. The
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, formed in 1956 (Knight’s Party, USA, (n.d.), with David Duke,
former Governor of Louisiana as its first national director are tied to the Aryan Brotherhood by
indoctrination. Brotherhood members are presented with his novel “My Awakening” as
membership important reading material (Aryan Brotherhood, 2010). (Barnhart, 2009)
Ku Klux Klan
After the civil war, the states of the Confederacy were forbidden to repatriate with the
Union states until after reconstruction occurred. According to the Indiana Historical Research
Foundation (2010), the white people of the Confederacy lost all of their civil rights, such as the
right to vote, hold public office, or redress grievances. Moreover, they had no legal defense, and
the south was quickly becoming a hotbed of violence, both racial and non-racial. Amidst this
social turmoil, five men came together with the notion of a white social club.
Pulaski, TN was the birthplace of the first Ku Klux Klan era, in 1865, in an office filled
with six lawyers, John Lester, James Crow, John Kennedy, Calvin Jones, Richard Reed, and
Frank McCord. The name originates from their college style model of a club, with a weird name
and silly costumes to lend an air of mystery (Indiana Historical Research Foundation, 2010).
The first “Grand Wizard” or leader was an ex confederate cavalry General named Nathan
Bedford Forrest. This position, designed to get the Klan organized, was geared towards
protecting the white people as soon as possible, from the reconstruction allowing the black man
to dominate Louisiana Legislature, functioning as a group against Union soldiers retaliation,
coupled with both black and white lawlessness to defend against. This group eventually became

5. Prison Gangs (STG’s) 5
a major reckoning force against the Union soldiers, reconstruction politics, and the carpetbaggers
with their ranks of ex-confederate soldiers forming groups of Klansmen. Membership in this era
of Klansmen and women was secret, and they disbanded in 1869 as a formal group but remained
a political factor until 1877. (Indiana Historical Research Foundation, 2010)
The next era of the Klan did not begin until 1915 by Colonel William Joseph Simmons,
and was focused on white Christianity and patriotism. These eras seem to be marked by who
was currently serving as “Imperial Wizard” which is their highest title. This era’s notable
accomplishment was their 40 thousand-man march on segregation. Era three fell under the rule
of Dr. Samuel Green from late 1920’s to mid 1930’s. With a marked decline in membership due
to the great depression and some highly publicized scandals including murder. This is their
situation until the 1960’s when the United States desegregated the military forces. This era was
also the era when the Klan began openly targeting Jews as well. They felt that the Jews in our
government were siding with the black people during the volatile civil rights era. This time was
the latter part of the fourth era, was ruled by smaller Klan groups led by Grand Dragons as they
were called. This was the real beginning of the violent image that comes to mind at the mention
of the KKK these days because of their violent actions such as hanging black people, burning
crosses in front of people of color’s houses, and their hatred of anyone not white. Their biggest
targets were the blacks and the Jews.
Today they are still a reckoning force, located primarily in the southern regions of
America, but are growing in light of our national debates on illegal immigration, and current
state of affairs as a nation, which is their main fight right now. The Klan now has spread as far
north as regions in Canada. (They, however, have changed from a mostly violent group to a
mostly political and peaceful group touting that they cannot help their cause from in the

6. Prison Gangs (STG’s) 6
correctional system. The Ku Klux Klan LLC yes, a nationally recognized official corporation in
the United States since 2003, quoted from their “About Us” page feels that” We denounce
violence as an acceptable means of accomplishing our agenda in every instance. We do not have
members in prisons or jails; we cannot help our Nation or people from behind bars!” Now they
prefer to demonstrate, run for office, and form a grassroots movement to “save white America”.
They feel our national sovereignty is at stake, and they feel they must save our white heritage.
Let’s just not forget the “loose” ties to the Aryan Brotherhood through their doctrines we
mentioned before. (The Ku Klux Klan, LLC. n.d.)
The Folk Nation
According to the Florida Department of Corrections (n.d.), the Folk Nation is not a gang
in and of itself. It is rather, a group of gangs on one side of the issues, resulting from the 1960’s
gang rivalry of the Black P-Stone Nation, a group of 50 local gangs that were united under the
leadership of Jeff Fort, and the Black Gangster Disciple Nation group of gangs, under the
leadership of David Barksdale and Larry Hoover. Both gangs used funds obtained by promoting
themselves as civic groups oriented to improving their communities to fund their illegal activities
such as prostitution, robbery, extortion, and the sale of narcotics. During the decade of the 70’s,
these gangs were the leaders of the Chicago drug trade. This rivalry resulted in the bloodiest
gang war in the history of Chicago. Jeff Fort’s illegal use of government funding was disclosed,
landing him in prison. (Florida Department of Corrections, n.d.)
Eventually in the streets of Chicago, the number of individual gangs increased as did
their numbers in the correctional system. In both the federal and state facilities during the
1980’s, these gang members needed a way to represent themselves safely in the correctional
environment and the alliances ran down the old Black P-Stone and Black Gangster Disciple

7. Prison Gangs (STG’s) 7
Nation lines. If your individual gang affiliated with the Black P-Stone Nation, you were now
part of the People Nation, and those who were affiliated with the Black Gangster Disciples you
belong to the Folk Nation. While in prison, these members carry out their respective prison
affiliation, but once released take their gang knowledge back to their respective individual gangs.
These individual gangs are still affiliated with their respective prison ties. (Florida Department
of Corrections, n.d.)
Each of these prison factions operate under the All for one and one for all mentality
which is a huge threat for communities and law enforcement, and require participation of all
members present in any kind of gang activity including but not limited to physical violence
confrontations. Noted by the Florida Department of Corrections (n.d.), rules that must be obeyed
in the code of conduct state that members must put “Folk before family, and I will not let my
brother fall to a knee”. Their motto is “All is One”. These gangs operate with initiation
beatings, or initiation consisting of a drive by shooting, or by the murder of a rival. These gangs
are dangerous because often it is a trivial thing like wearing your hat on the other side or graffiti
that precipitate violence and murder. Everything is about respect and the ever-loving dollar to
these types of organizations. It can be said that Chicago street gangs are the basis of all modern
street gangs today, and are growing in the prison systems, however on the streets often alliances
change based on need (Chicago Gangs, 2010).
The Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam found its roots in 1930, with a man named Wallace Dodd Fard also
known as Muhammad Fard, who appeared suddenly in the black projects of Detroit, MI about
the time that the black people that fled north during and after the civil war were realizing that
they should have been careful what they wished for. They were starving, living in shoddy

8. Prison Gangs (STG’s) 8
overcrowded conditions according to the Watchman (1998), and in the light of the Great
Depression, found themselves losing jobs and opportunities to white men as available work
diminished. One of the most notable former members would be Malcolm X. He broke off ties
with the group over ideologies but later became affiliated with the group after leadership was
taken by Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam. The original goal was to enrich and provide
black empowerment, however with the addition of Louis Farrakhan as their leader in the mid
1970’s, the group’s message of hatred of whites, Jews, and homosexuals is brought to light.
The Nation of Islam is one of the oldest organizations of blacks in our history. They
promote themselves as a religious group, and followers are all expected to learn the material by
rote, and to recruit others all while using the “proper grammar” that their leaders require of them.
They are also all supposed to follow the teachings of Allah and Muhammad. In 1984, the Nation
of Islam stepped into American politics with their public endorsement of Jesse Jackson’s
campaign by Louis Farrakhan who urged all his followers to do the same. While the nation of
Islam is recognized as a national group within the prison system, the only public ties to gangs
would be the alliance with the New Black Panther Party. It seems that this group is on the STG
group because of their racial ideologies. These groups are more prevalent in the northeast areas
of the country. (Anti-defamation League, 2010)
MS 13 Mara Salvatruca
While this is one of our newer gang problems in the United States with MS 13 forming in
the Los Angeles area in the mid 1980’s this STG is one of the biggest problems we face in our
communities and correctional facilities today. They grew out of El Salvadorian immigrants

9. Prison Gangs (STG’s) 9
banding together forming MS to protect themselves from other Latin gangs already present in
Los Angeles. Later they aligned with the Mexican Mafia, La Eme, adding the 13 to note the
allegiance to them. This gang operates out of 42 states, along with the District of Columbia
according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (2008) Threat Assessment of MS-13.
(Sampson Sheriff, n.d.)
In the 1990’s, MS-13 came to law enforcement attention as they were targeting violent
areas in Hispanic neighborhoods. When law enforcement deported the violent gang members,
they took their gang to their home countries such as El Salvador, while spreading their ways into
other Central American countries, Mexico, and furthering their following in the United States.
Today they are known for their excessive use of violence and are considered to be the worst of
the worst STG’s known for their adaptability where law enforcement operations are concerned.
(Sampson Sheriff, n.d.)
The hierarchy is based on status, which is based upon how many acts have been
committed for the gang. There is no national leaders recognized, instead leadership is based on
local leaders. Originally, all members were El Salvadoran nationality; however, they currently
accept any Hispanic heritage in their ranks. Among the crimes these gangs have been charged
with are murder, robbery, stabbings, drive by shootings, assault, sexual assault, rape, and
extortion. They have also, been charged with witness tampering and intimidation crimes. One
of the biggest concerns of law enforcement is that this is one of the fastest growing gangs today.
(Sampson Sheriff, n.d.)

10. Prison Gangs (STG’s) 10
Conclusion
Because of organizational factors and growing numbers of members, the Aryan
Brotherhood, Ku Klux Klan, the Folks, the Nation of Islam, and MS13 have emerged as our
biggest security group threats in the American corrections system. These groups have different
ideologies and methods of operations they all have some similarities. These can be the fact that
they are all either directly or indirectly affiliated with violence and drug trafficking, or that all
believe that their way is the only right way. Law enforcement agencies have their work cut out
for them, considering the rate of growth of some STG’s is large enough in some areas to cause
the FBI (2010) to raise their threat assessment levels higher, as in the case of MS13. (Sampson
Sheriff, n.d.)

11. Prison Gangs (STG’s) 11
References:
Anti-Defamation League (2001). Bigotry Behind Bars: Racist Groups in U.S. Prisons.
Retrieved from: http://www.adl.org/special_reports/racist_groups_in_prisons/print.asp
Anti-Defamation League (2010). What is the Nation of Islam? Retrieved from:
http://www.adl.org/main_Nation_of_Islam/what_is_the_nation_of_islam.htm
Aryan Brotherhood (2010). Stormfront- White Nationalist Community. Retrieved from:
http://www.stormfront.org/forum/
Barnhart, T. (2009). tell it like it is Officer Survival Mindset & Survival Techniques; The Aryan
Brotherhood. Retrieved from: http://www.corrections.com/tracy_barnhart/?p=500
Bartollas, C. (2002). Invitation to Corrections. Boston. Allyn and Bacon
Broder, J.M. (2006). Trial Begins for Members of Aryan Prison Gang. The New York Times.
March 15, 2006. Retrieved from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/15/national/15aryan.html
Brotherhood of Klans, Intl. (n.d.). History of the Ku Klux Klan. Retrieved from:
http://www.knightskkk.com/KKKhistory.html
Chicago Gangs (2010). Chicago Gangs. People and Folk Nation. Retrieved from:
http://www.chicagogangs.org/
Federal Bureau of Investigation (1998). Subject: Aryan Brotherhood. Retrieved from:
http://foia.fbi.gov/aryanbro/aryanbro1.pdf

12. Prison Gangs (STG’s) 12
Federal Bureau of Investigation (2008). The MS-13 Threat: A National Assessment. Retrieved
from: http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2008/january/ms13_011408/?searchterm=MS 13
Florida Department of Corrections. (n.d.). Street Gangs- Chicago Based or Influenced: People
Nation and Folk Nation. Retrieved from:
http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/gangs/Chicago.html
Indiana Historical Research Foundation (2010). An Educational, Historical Study of the Ku
Klux Klan. Retrieved from: http://www.kkklan.com/ ,
http://www.kkklan.com/historical.htm
The Ku Klux Klan, LLC. (n.d.) About Us: What Makes Us Better. Retrieved from:
http://kukluxklan.bz/about.html
The Knight’s Party, USA. (n.d.) The Official Website of The Knight’s Party, USA: Intro.
Retrieved from: http://www.kkk.bz/intro.htm
Narcotics Digest Weekly, (2005). Special Issue: Gangs in the United States. Narcotics Digest
Weekly Volume 4, Number 40, October 4, 2005 retrieved from
http://www.cicad.oas.org/Crimen_Organizado/ESP/Actualidad/Pandillas%20en%20USA.
pdf
Sampson Sheriff. (n.d.). Gang Profile-MS-13-Border Brothers. Retrieved from:
http://www.sampsonsheriff.com/otherforms/20051017_ms13.pdf
Watchmen Fellowship. (1998). Profile: The Nation of Islam. Retrieved from:
http://www.watchman.org/profile/nationofislampro.htm

13. Prison Gangs (STG’s) 13
Watermark on all pages Aryan Brotherhood Gang Symbol Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan_BrotherhoodA Review of Top Security Threat
Groups in Our Prisons: