Washington, D.C. – On May 19, Francis Clement, 58, Kenneth Johnson, 63, and John Stinson, 70—members of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang—were sentenced during a federal racketeering (RICO) conspiracy case involving crimes such as robbery, drug trafficking, and murder.
The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs issued a press release detailing the sentencing of the three men. “According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between 2016 and 2023, Aryan Brotherhood members and associates engaged in racketeering activity, including murder, conspiracy to murder, fraud, robbery, and drug trafficking crimes,” which influenced the jury’s decision. A racketeering conspiracy charge requires an agreement between two or more individuals to engage in repeated illegal activities, often associated with organized crime.
The Office of Public Affairs noted that Clement was sentenced to life in prison for “RICO conspiracy and five separate counts of murder” committed while incarcerated in state prison. Johnson received the same sentence for “RICO conspiracy and two counts of murder in aid of racketeering.” Stinson, already serving time in the California state prison system, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for “one count of RICO conspiracy.”
The press release further reported that all three men held leadership positions within the white supremacist gang and directed criminal operations “both inside and outside of prison.” To facilitate communication and “conduct business on behalf of the Aryan Brotherhood,” they used “cellphones that had been smuggled into prison” to traffic drugs “into prisons throughout the California prison system, which defendants and other gang members then sold to inmates.” Clement and Stinson “received a cut of illegal drug sales that took place in prison and on the street.”
Part of running the Aryan Brotherhood’s operations included ordering targeted killings. According to the Office of Public Affairs, “killings were ordered because defendants believed the victims either violated gang rules or owed the gang money.” The trial revealed that Johnson and Clement jointly ordered the murder of an individual, “during the execution of which another individual who was subsequently killed” in October 2020. The two also ordered an additional murder, which was carried out. In 2022, Clement ordered three more killings—one in February and two in March.
Beyond the group’s criminal activities, the press release emphasized Stinson’s power as a high-ranking leader within the Aryan Brotherhood. The Office of Public Affairs reported that Stinson “had substantial authority over the enterprise, including sponsoring multiple individuals for membership, resolving disputes among members, and approving the murder of current and former members.” The jury was presented with evidence of Stinson’s involvement in the Aryan Brotherhood’s operations through “court-authorized wiretapped conversations.”
The trial and sentencing of the three men mark a significant victory for law enforcement agencies fighting organized crime within prisons. The press release included a statement from Matthew Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, who said his office “will continue to pursue syndicates, like the Aryan Brotherhood and their facilitators, to ensure they go to prison and the harm they inflict on society ends once incarcerated.”
Acting U.S. District Attorney for the Eastern District of California, Michele Beckwith, also commented, stating that the sentences “are yet another blow to the leadership of a violent criminal enterprise run from inside California prisons and spanning multiple counties and states.”
Echoing that sentiment, Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Daniel Driscoll, asserted that although the “Aryan Brotherhood’s leadership operated a criminal enterprise from behind bars,” “the walls of prison do not shield violent gang leaders from justice.”
The indictment in this case is ongoing, as it “charged 11 defendants with RICO conspiracy and other crimes.” Currently, five defendants are awaiting trial, and three have pleaded guilty.
