Harlan Hale, RICO Conspiracy, Idaho 2023

Leader of Aryan Knights Prison Gang Sentenced to Life in Federal Prison

BOISE, Idaho - Harlan Hale, 55, a former leader of the Aryan Knights prison gang, was sentenced to life in federal prison for his role in a RICO conspiracy and a violent crime in furtherance of racketeering activity.

Hale pleaded guilty to one count of participating in a RICO conspiracy and one count of committing a violent crime in furtherance of racketeering activity. Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye imposed the life sentence, which will be served after Hale's existing sentences from a State of Idaho case and a federal case in the District of Wyoming.

The Aryan Knights, or AK, is a prison gang that operates within Idaho Department of Correction prison facilities and also outside of those facilities. The gang was founded in the mid-1990s in the Idaho prison system and has white supremacist and white separatist ideologies. It has expanded over the years and is now believed to have over 100 members, both inside and outside of IDOC custody.

The AK has used violence and the threat of violence to target non-white inmates and other targeted inmates. The gang has also used drug trafficking, extortion, and gambling to generate revenue, which was shared among members. Hale held a leadership role in the AK and participated in drug trafficking and violent assaults, including assaulting another inmate for failing to pay a drug debt and stabbing a former AK member with improvised knives.

“The life sentence imposed on this defendant recognizes the devastating effects that prison gangs, and especially white supremacist prison gangs, have on the rehabilitative mission of correctional institutions and individual inmates who sincerely hope to use their period of incarceration to successfully reenter society,” said Rafael M. Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney.

According to court records, Hale was involved in extensive drug trafficking, involving significant quantities of methamphetamine. The gang used violence to collect debts, including Hale's assault on another inmate in 2015. Hale was also involved in the assault of a former AK member with improvised knives in 2016.

“The crimes of organized prison gangs often go beyond the prison walls, bringing more drugs and violence into our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Dennis Rice of the Salt Lake City FBI.

Hale is not the only member of the Aryan Knights to be sentenced in this case. Ten members of the AK were charged, and seven have pleaded guilty to date. Three have been sentenced, including Christopher Foss, who was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison, with 174 months to be served after his earliest possible parole date for his current state prison sentence. Buck Pickens was sentenced to 206 months in federal prison, with 60 months to be served after his earliest possible parole date for his current sentence. Michael McNabb was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-id/pr/leader-aryan-knights-prison-gang-sentenced-life-federal-prison-rico-conspiracy