A Missouri man was sentenced Tuesday 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, officials stated.
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.
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 a rival white supremacist gang’s attack on a higher-ranking member of the AC.
“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 of Texas.
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 of Texas prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.
Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.