Gang presence in the United States military is a phenomenon in which members of American street gangs such as the Crips, Latin Kings, Aryan Brotherhood, Sureños, Nazi Low Riders and many others either join the United States Armed Forces, or are recruited to join the gangs while already in the military.
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White power Skinheads
In 1995, Malcolm Wright Jr. and James N. Burmeister were charged in the murder of an African American couple in North Carolina. Wright and Burmeister were in the U.S. Army, and part of Fort Bragg's 82 Airborne Division. Wright and Burmeister were both arrested at a trailer park where police found a 9-mm semiautomatic pistol, a Nazi flag, White supremacists pamphlets, and other gang paraphernalia. Both men were sentenced to life in prison.
Former Skinhead T.J. Leyden was in the U.S. Marines. He spent 15 years in the Skinhead movement before renouncing racism, and going to work as a consultant for Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.
Gangster Disciples
On July 3, 2005, gang members from Gangster Disciples killed Sergeant Juwan Johnson from U.S. Army in a small town of Hohenecken near Ramstein, Germany. Prosecutors accused Airman Rico Williams of throwing the first punch in a six-minute beating that Sergeant Johnson had to endure to join the gang. When Sergeant Johnson asked one of his fellow gang members to take him to the hospital, Williams was then consulted and ordered that gang member to not take him there. Sergeant Johnson later died from multiple blunt-force trauma. According to the government's investigations, Airman Rico Williams was the leader of the gang. Airman Rico Williams was sentenced to 22 years in prison, while other servicemen faced other sentences ranging from 2 to 12 years in prison.
Norteños
January 9, 2005, Officer Sam Ryno was first to respond to a call of a man with a gun in front of George's Liquors. Andres Raya, a U.S. Marine on leave after coming back from Iraq, was armed with an SKS rifle and opened fire on officers, hitting Officer Ryno and killing Sergeant Stevenson. Raya was shot dead some time later after he opened fire on SWAT team members.
Portrayed by local media as a calculated attack on law enforcement, the Stevenson slaying sparked attention from the national media which suggested that Raya snapped due to his experience in the Iraq War. Family, friends, and fellow Marines close to Raya spoke of Raya's violent nightmares and distress which led to heavy drinking and drug use while on leave. However, local law enforcement officials claimed Raya had been involved in gangs for years prior to him signing up for military service. Modesto authorities discovered information during the investigation into the shooting that shows Raya was a Norteño gang member who was not involved in combat during his tour of duty in Iraq. A cooperative effort between the Stanislaus Sheriff's Detectives, local law enforcement, the FBI, NCIS, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Marine Corps revealed a large amount of information about Raya in a short amount of time.
King Cobras
In July 2000 in Orange County California, members of the King Cobras gang engaged in a fight with a rival gang named Lao Family. One of the King Cobras gang members was in the U.S. Marines. He was stationed at MCAS Camp Pendleton. He worked in the Marines armory, and was experienced with weapons. Using his military training, he arranged his gang members in a location where they were able to observe and ambush the rival gang members. Fortunately, no one was fatally injured. Authorities later arrested the U.S. Marine gang member on base. A search warrant was executed at his residence where numerous military-issued manuals for machine guns and handguns were seized.
Extent
In 2008, FBI gang investigator Jennifer Simon stated that 1-2% of the U.S. military belongs to gangs, which is 50-100 times the rate in the general population. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment, the NGIC has identified members of more than 53 gangs who have served in the United States military, including Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, MS-13, Sureños, the Aryan Brotherhood, Barrio Azteca, Bandidos, Hells Angels, and Gangster Disciples.
U.S. gangs have sometimes encouraged their members to join the military in order to learn urban warfare techniques, which they could then teach other gang members when they returned from service.
Reports
The FBI’s 2007 report on gang membership in the military stated that the military's recruit screening process is ineffective, and allows gang members/extremists to enter the military. The report listed at least eight instances in the previous three years in which gang members had obtained military weapons for their own use.
"Gang Activity in the U.S. Armed Forces Increasing", dated January 12, 2007, stated that street gangs including the Bloods, Crips, Black Disciples, Gangster Disciples, Hells Angels, Latin Kings, The 18th Street Gang, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Mexican Mafia, Nortenos, Surenos, and Vice Lords have been documented on military installations both domestic and international, although recruiting gang members violates military regulations.
Gang graffiti in Iraq
U.S. gang-related graffiti has shown up in Iraq since the beginning of the Iraq war in 2003. Among the largest American street gangs represented in Iraq are the Gangster Disciples, Crips, Bloods, 18th Street, Nortenos, Black Disciples, Surenos, Latin Kings, TAP Boyz, Vice Lords, and Black P. Stones, which originated in some of Chicago's most violent and impoverished neighborhoods. There are also reports of Black Power, African Nations, Aryan Nations, Aryan Brotherhood and Ku Klux Klan gang graffiti in Iraq.
Reported Gangs
This is a list of gangs in the US military.