UPDATE – Seen entry near the bottom of this posting for new information.

The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas prison gang is the “most violent extremist group in the United States, contends the Anti-Defamation League, which has studied and tracked the group for years.

The ADL published its findings Wednesday in a blog posting. It says in part:

“What’s the most violent extremist group in the United States today? The answer may be surprising: it is the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT), one of the largest white supremacist prison gangs in the country. According to ADL records, since 2000, this racist group—which has no relationship to the older, “original” Aryan Brotherhood—has killed more Americans than any other domestic extremist group. Since 2000, ABT members and associates have committed at least 29 murders in the United States, all in Texas or neighboring states. The true number is likely considerably higher, as most murders that occur behind prison walls do not get reported by the media. The 29 known killings are all “street” killings, more evidence of the growing presence of racist prison gangs on the streets of America.” The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas is a prison-born gang that formed in the 1980s, and based in part on the Aryan Brotherhood. A piece published earlier this week in the Houston Chronicle looked at an ongoing law-enforcement probe that has put more than 60 of the gangs members in state or federal prison and continues. The allegations described in numerous court documents and records, which were used to prosecute the gang’s members, including ranking generals, describe an organization where betrayal can bring an order they be killed. The most recent killings do overwhelmingly seem to be kept to the gang’s inner circle and not draw in civilians.

T

UPDATE: Perhaps some of the questions raised can be answered by this is additional comment from he Anti-Defamation League. The ADL sent me this via email in response to some of the postings from the public I hope this helps shed more light on matters:

The vast majority of gangs are not extremist groups (i.e., groups that adhere to an extreme ideology). The ABT is both, and in our article we are comparing it in an extremist group context, not a gang context. If you look at all gangs, both extremist gangs (mostly white supremacist prison gangs and skinhead gangs) and the far more numerous non-extremist ones (which includes most street gangs, prison gangs, motorcycle gangs, etc.), then I would agree that the ABT is probably not the most violent gang. However, if you look specifically at extremist groups (whether extremism-based gangs or other types of extremist groups), the ABT does have the biggest track record of murders in recent years. No other extremist group comes close. This is a distinction that some people sometimes have difficulty making.





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