0
0
Defendants Aaron Matthew Rentfrow and William Glenn Chunn, who were shown to be members of a white supremacist gang called the Aryan Circle, appeal their convictions related to the attempted murder of a fellow inmate.
The Aryan Circle is a white supremacist gang that began in the Texas state prison system. It now has hundreds of members in and out of American prisons. It recruits violent men, furthers its goals through criminal activity, such as drug trafficking and murder, and seeks to spread throughout the United States.
Chunn was stated to be one of the five upper board members governing the Aryan Circle nationally and the leader of its members at the federal prison in Yazoo City, Mississippi (“USP Yazoo City”), where he was imprisoned at the time of the relevant events.
During that same time, Rentfrow was also a prisoner at USP Yazoo City and was said to be an Aryan Circle “prospect“.
A prospect is a person undergoing a probationary period during which he eventually “puts in blood work” (a violent act) to achieve full membership.
Once a prospect becomes a full member, he receives an Aryan Circle tattoo, which is referred to as a “patch.” The tattoo includes a diamond outline with a swastika inside the diamond and the letters “AC” in the center.
On the date of the relevant events, a new inmate, M.M., transferred into USP Yazoo City. Chunn and Jeremy Dennis, an alleged Aryan Circle member, went to M.M.’s cell to meet him.
Afterwards, they allegedly told others that M.M. could not stay on the unit because of their belief that he was homosexual. Aryan Circle members refuse to share prison units with homosexual people, so they conduct acts of violence against such individuals with the goal of forcing the prison administration to remove such individuals from the unit.
At trial, multiple witnesses testified that Rentfrow, at Chunn’s behest, stabbed M.M. 13 times (because “A” and “C” are the first and third letters of the alphabet) and physically beat him to earn membership in the Aryan Circle. M.M. survived the attack but sustained life-threatening injuries.
Chunn tattooed the Aryan Circle patch onto Rentfrow to display Rentfrow’s full membership in the gang. The government also presented to the jury a picture of Rentfrow with an Aryan Circle tattoo.
The jury found Rentfrow and Chunn guilty of both counts against them: (1) violent crimes in aid of racketeering assault with a deadly weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
The Aryan Circle does not permit cooperation with law enforcement and such cooperation can have serious repercussions including death.
United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Aaron Matthew Rentfrow; William Glenn Chunn, Defendants-Appellants. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. USDC No. 3:20-CR-128-2. No. 23-60054. Filed February 21, 2024.
Average Rating