Aryan Brotherhood Member Admits to Racketeering & Kidnapping

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Charles M. McCully, 44, a member of the notoriously violent Universal Aryan Brotherhood (UAB), admitted in federal court Tuesday to his role in a sprawling racketeering conspiracy and a particularly brutal kidnapping. The guilty plea brings a measure of accountability for a gang that has terrorized Oklahoma for decades, but the stench of their crimes lingers.

According to court documents, McCully pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise and kidnapping. The deal struck with prosecutors stipulates a prison sentence of between 151 and 188 months. U.S. District Judge Claire V. Eagan will hand down the final sentence on April 6, 2022. Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson minced no words, stating that McCully “helped to further the Universal Aryan Brotherhood’s lucrative and deadly criminal organization.”

McCully confessed to being a UAB member since 2005, detailing a litany of criminal activities committed by the “whites only” gang both inside and outside Oklahoma’s state prisons. The UAB, modeled after the infamous California-based Aryan Brotherhood, engages in everything from murder and drug trafficking to witness intimidation and home invasions, all to enrich its members and maintain control. McCully admitted knowing and agreeing that at least two members would commit racketeering crimes on behalf of the UAB. The indictment alleges nine murders tied to the gang’s operations, often ordered by the UAB’s “Main Council.”

The kidnapping charge stems from an October 26, 2014 incident where McCully and others abducted two individuals they believed had informed on a UAB stash house. The victims were held against their will and subjected to terrifying threats. McCully admitted the group used tarps, shovels, and even blowtorches in an attempt to intimidate and break the victims. It’s a chilling glimpse into the depravity of the UAB and its willingness to resort to extreme violence.

McCully was one of 18 UAB members and associates indicted in December 2018, with the indictment unsealed in February 2019. The charges detailed a wide-ranging racketeering enterprise responsible for a slew of crimes across Oklahoma, including methamphetamine and firearms trafficking, money laundering, assault, and robbery. This plea, while significant, is just one piece of a larger effort to dismantle the UAB’s criminal network.

The investigation, led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and IRS-Criminal Investigation, involved a multi-agency task force including the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, and various local and federal law enforcement agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis A. Fries is prosecuting the case. The UAB’s reign of terror may be waning, but the scars they’ve left on Oklahoma will remain for years to come. A link to the original DOJ press release from February 2019 can be found here.

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