US Courts Sentence 69 Prison Gang Members to 418 Years for Drug Trafficking

Published: 11 January 2023

Prison Building

A multi-year investigation into the Universal Aryan Brotherhood prison gang has resulted in 69 convictions across multiple state and federal cases. (Photo: Jeff Clark/BLM, Flickr, License)

By Henry Pope

U.S. courts across the country sentenced 69 members of the Universal Aryan Brotherhood (UAB) prison gang to a total of 418 years behind bars and 216 years of supervised release for crimes including drug trafficking and money laundering.

The convictions are the result of a multi-year investigation into the neo-Nazi, white supremacist gang based in Oklahoma, with members incarcerated in multiple detention facilities across the United States.

While the name of the gang, also known as the Universal Family, draws similarities to the original, and still active, Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, there are no official hierarchical connections between two groups. Identifying features for UAB members include their distinctive criminal tattoos as well as their insignia: a dual set of sig runes taken from the infamous Schutzstaffel, which is a defining symbol of many white supremacist organizations and neo-Nazi groups throughout the world.

The convictions come off of last month’s sentencing of Chance Alan Wilson, a.k.a. Wolfhead, said to be the gang’s leader, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release issued on Monday.

Already serving a state sentence of 15 years for murder, Wilson will now call Oklahoma State Penitentiary home for an additional 30 years after being found guilty of heading a multi-year drug trafficking conspiracy that included the distribution and sale of methamphetamine.

Through Wilson, the UAB constructed a network outside of America’s prisons that managed their drug trafficking operations. In uncovering the conspiracy, investigators learnt that he coordinated everything from inside the prison using contraband cell phones.

“Criminal gangs constitute a significant threat to public safety,” said Robert Melton, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the HSI Dallas - Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle Division. Meanwhile, FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray commented that “the citizens of Oklahoma are safer today because of the massive amount of methamphetamine, weapons, and drug proceeds removed from our communities.”