Bingham

Tyler Davis Bingham and Edgar Hevle are members of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang and were convicted following trial by a jury of substantive violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1962 (c), conspiracy to violate the RICO Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1962 (d), the murders of Frank Joyner and Abdul Salaam as violent crimes in aid of racketeering (VICAR), 18 U.S.C. § 1959 (a)(1), and the murder of Arva Lee Ray, 18 U.S.C. § 1111 . Bingham and Hevle appeal their convictions, and we affirm.

I

A

The Aryan Brotherhood (AB) started as a California state prison gang and eventually spread to the federal system. AB members were incarcerated at the United States Prisons in Lompoc, California; Florence, Colorado; Marion, Illinois; Leavenworth, Kansas; and Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

Through the 1980’s, the AB had an informal structure of command. AB members elected a three-person Council with limited oversight capabilities, meant to act more as coordinators than leaders. The Council’s main role was to “pass messages” and keep track of members, but over the years it got more authority to make decisions. Barry Byron Mills, Edgar Hevle, and Tommy…