Group Status: Active
The Aryan Circle is the second-largest white supremacist prison gang in Texas and one of the largest such gangs in the United States. Its most common tattoo, known as a "shield" or "patch," consists of a square oriented to form a diamond shape. Inside the diamond is typically a swastika and the initials AC; it is also common to include SS lightning bolts. Because of this symbol, Aryan Circle members often refer to their gang as "The Diamond" and may use phrases such as "let that Diamond shine!" Because of the age of the group (it dates back to the 1980s) and its size, there are many variations of this patch. In the early years of the Aryan Circle, members used a smaller, simpler tattoo, consisting of SS lightning bolts inside a circle; sometimes one can still find this symbol used. Aryan Circle members also use many coded references to themselves, typically involving the number 13 (substituting letters for numbers, this stands for AC), such as referring to themselveas as "113%," which stands for "100% Aryan Circle," or using the numbers 36 or 136 (for "Circle Forever" or "Aryan Circle Forever"). Members may also use the number 360, which is a circle reference ( as a circle has 360 degrees).
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