Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Member Billy Weatherred Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Charges

A member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas gang has pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges.

Billy Frank Weatherred of Dallas pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity.

According to court documents, the 28-year-old Weatherred and other gang members and associates agreed to commit multiple acts of murder, robbery, arson, kidnapping, and narcotics trafficking.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says that Weatherred and other ABT members met on a regular basis at locations throughout Texas to report on gang-related business, collect dues, commit disciplinary assaults against fellow gang members, and discuss acts of violence against rival gang members.

Weatherred is one of 36 defendants charged with racketeering activity with the ABT, and is one of nine that have pleaded guilty. He faces up to life in prison.

The ABT was established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system, and modeled itself after the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang founded in the 1960s.

The group was originally founded to protect white inmates and to promote white supremacy and separatism, but expanded to include illegal activities for profit.

The ABT reportedly enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects, and associates through murder, attempted murder, arson, robbery, and threats.