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Mike Thompson
1-800-contacts. Previously on Blood Memory. Anarian brother is without care. He walks where the weak and heartless won't dare. And if by chance he should stumble and lose control, his brothers will be there to help reach his goal. That's propaganda. They controlled the drug trade, prostitution, loans. So at any rate, I accepted their invitation. I started focusing on procuring weapons. If you have a battle between a knife and a gun, we already know who's gonna win.
Nick Van Der Kolk
But the brand grew.
Interviewer
It sounds like.
Mike Thompson
Yes. Yes.
Interviewer
Like with your involvement.
Mike Thompson
Yes, it did.
Interviewer
You played kind of a pivotal role in it.
Mike Thompson
I did. Yeah. That's the problem. When you look at Bushido, you know, code of conduct for samurai, when you render it down, it's about honor and what constitutes honor in any given situation. That's where ethics come in. But very rarely did samurai incorporate that into their fighting. I mean, they would walk down the street, and to test the sharpness of their sword, they would cut a peasant in half. Where are the ethics in that? Where's the honor in that?
Nick Van Der Kolk
From Love and Radio. You're listening to Blood Memory. I'm Nick Van Der Kolk. This is episode six, Blood In, Blood Out.
Interviewer
As the Brand grew, I guess there was a decision to have more of a sort of formalized leadership.
Mike Thompson
So, yeah, when the Brand decided to go national and they voted in a commission, and I was part of that commission, and the first order of business was, you know, the taking of essentially innocent life. Chapter one. The Commission, during the course of the potential war between the Mexican Mafia and the Brand, as a result of an altercation that TD and I had at San Quentin with the Mexican Mafia, a couple of Brand members had killed a young man by the name of Gibson. The energy was such that potential was the Brand in the Mexican Mafia. We're going to go to war. Mexican Mafia lived on the third tier. The Brand lived on the second tier. This kid lived on the second tier with the Brand and was talking out of his cell about the Mexican Mafia as compensation for what he had said. A couple brand members killed him out in the yard because of the offense to the Mexican mafia. Blinky Griffin and Junior Snyder killed him. You know, Blinky stood in front of him and Junior was behind him, and they had him engaged in a card game, inception. And Junior Snyder stabbed him in the back, and Blinky just from the front stabbed him in the throat and ran it across his juggler and his windpipe. That, for whatever reason, impacted Steve on a very deep level.
Narrator/Reporter
Stephen Barnes, a former member of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, took the witness
Mike Thompson
stand against Robert Lee Blinky Griffin, a leading member of the AB who was on trial for murder.
Interviewer
Did you know Stephen Barnes before he left?
Mike Thompson
Yeah.
Interviewer
What was he like?
Mike Thompson
He was what I would call a critical dope fiend. If you're a dope fiend, I don't have much time for you. So, you know, we interacted. He later told me at one point when we were out in the yard, it was summertime and I'd been working out or something, and he was sitting at a table and I come over and apparently he had already begun cooperating with law enforcement. Of course, I didn't know that, but he was paranoid. And so I'd come over and I'd sat down table. And because the table was stainless steel and the sun was hot, this thing was like a stove. So I took shoes and I put them up on the table to put my arms on the table. And he said that when I did that, he thought I had a knife in those shoes and I was going to hit him. That was the extent of my conversation with him. But, you know, I think having seen Gibson murdered the way he was, that that impacted him.
Nick Van Der Kolk
What did you and the other leadership do once you found out that Stephen Barnes was working with law enforcement?
Mike Thompson
Well, just. We had a meeting.
Nick Van Der Kolk
And can you sort of describe the scene? Like, what were you out on the yard?
Mike Thompson
You have four yards, and right in the center of those four yards is a gun tower, sits about 12ft off the ground. You know, it has a handball court on it and a basketball hoop. But in this case, you know, you'd have with 12 people there, and you're sitting in a circle. That pretty much takes up the whole handball court. So there's nothing else going on. You know, some are sitting, some are standing. So you're in the circle and you're talking about this. The subject is broach and, you know, you go around and different people weigh in. How can we counter this? What can we say, defense wise, that will impeach what he's saying, what is his testimony? So that we can compare that to the written reports by the guards. For instance, Are there inconsistencies, that type thing? That would have been my approach to it.
Interviewer
Did anyone want to kill him?
Mike Thompson
Yeah. We knew he was in protective custody, and there was essentially no way to get to him. Blinky's reasoning was, we can't get to him, let's kill his family. He proposed the idea that, you know, that his wife and child be assassined.
Interviewer
What did the others say?
Mike Thompson
To a man? Every one of them agreed with him, except me. So I opposed it for the obvious reasons. I mean, you know, you're talking about, okay, you can't get to him, but you're going to kill a child and her mother because you can't get to him. Somebody explain the logic or the rationale in that. You think that's going to stop him from testifying? I don't think so. What is this you need? Because he's testifying against you and you're looking at life in prison as a result of it, you need to feel better about what's happening. So you're going to kill his. Yeah, that's right. He testified against me, but I killed his wife and children. Is that what this is about? Are you serious? The fact that anybody could even contemplate that shocked me. Not surprised me, shocked me. And I let that be known.
Interviewer
And what did they say to that?
Mike Thompson
They just listened. Not much they can say. There's no battle there. There's. There's nothing. That's this. The same as the samurai walking by the peasant and slicing him in half to check the sharpness of his blade. There's no honor in that. If I'd been shocked at the fact that the issue had been brought up at all, I was more shocked by the fact that others entertained the idea. There was a vote taken. It was decided that, no, they wouldn't assassinate his wife and daughter, but one of his parents was fair game. As offensive as it is that you would contemplate killing a woman and her child, kill an elder, a parent, another innocent person, for what reason? Across the board, I was outvoted. I was the only one that voted no.
Interviewer
If the brain had been able to get to Barnes, would that have changed the outcome for you?
Mike Thompson
Sure. Yeah. You know, that's an entirely different thing in the context of prison and in context of the Aryan Brotherhood. I'm of the mindset that you're in the mix, and you know that going into it, you know that if you step away, and particularly if you testify that you're marked. So, yeah, that would have changed it if you said to me that, okay, we're going to set about this plan. He's in protective custody, so we're going to initiate a sleeper. We're going to attempt to put somebody next to him that is taking the position that he's dropping out too. And so eventually they'll find themselves together. That's how they do it. And then he can facilitate that. But again, to answer your question, no, I don't have a problem with that and I would not have had a problem with that at the time. That's the kind of conversation that I actually would have expected.
Interviewer
At the risk of beating a dead horse. Again, I have to ask you, how does that square with your not liking violence?
Mike Thompson
Well, one is first and foremost, it's beyond my control, just as the ultimate decision was beyond my control. And so you look for alternatives to approach that. That's the reality of prison. And it's not just splitting hairs. The issue here is that if you're in the mix, you know what the rules are, you know what the consequences are as a result of turning against them in any capacity, then that's expected.
Nick Van Der Kolk
Love and Radio will return after these messages. Hey there, it's Nick. Did you know there's an online cannabis company that ships federally legal THC right to your door? And they found a way to combine THC with carefully selected functional ingredients to create gummies, baked goods and flourishes for whatever type of buzz you'd want. I'm talking about mood.com. they have an incredible line of cannabis gummies and you can get 20% off your first order@mood.com with promo code Loveradio. Their best seller right now is Sleepy Time Advanced Gummies for a mind soothing calm at night. But they have a wide range of other products including Morning Delta 9 Gummies for an energizing, focused mental boost and CBD Gummies for gentle relaxation without any psychoactive effects. Everything ships discreetly right to your door and every Mood product is backed by 100 day satisfaction guarantee. So head on over to mood.com, find the functional gummy that matches exactly what you're looking for and let Mood help you discover your perfect mood. And don't forget to use promo code Loveradio when you check out to save 20% on your first order and let them know that we sent you. Try today@mood.com and use the promo code Loveradio. Thank you to Mood for supporting the podcast. Okay, back to the Show.
Mike Thompson
Chapter two.
Nick Van Der Kolk
Curtis Price. So what, what happened after the vote to kill one of Stephen Barnes's parents?
Mike Thompson
Curtis Price is the one that took the contract because he was paroling.
Nick Van Der Kolk
And tell me more about Curtis Price. Like what? What was he like?
Mike Thompson
He was what I would refer to as a soldier. He was one of those individuals that essentially wanted to be recognized for his contribution to the organization. You see that a lot where you have individuals. You have certain individuals that every time something comes up, they're volunteering to take the lead on it. And Curtis was one of those. Curtis had gotten out, so he made a trip up north to Eureka and he developed a relationship with a woman called Elizabeth Hickey. And he did so because it was his understanding that her father, who was a gun collector, kept guns at her residence. He took those weapons, came back down to Southern California and gained access to Richard Barnes house. He walked up behind him and shot him in the head. And Elizabeth Hickey, he bludgeoned her to death. He sent me a postcard. The code was that he. He had taken the brother to the country. That was that he had carried out the contract.
Interviewer
What'd you think when you got that news?
Mike Thompson
I thought that I can't condone this. I'm not going to condone it. I'm not going to be a part of it, and I'm going to do everything I can to prevent it from happening again. I told the tear guard that I wanted to talk to the police commander for the adjustment center. And he says, what's up, Mike? And I said, go ahead and pull me out and let's go up to your office. I need to talk to you. Of course, I'd never done anything like that. So he immediately had me pulled out and went up to his office and we sat down and I said, I need you to get on the phone and call Sacramento and tell them that I'm going to step away from the brand. Well, let's start the process. Meanwhile, here's what I need to have you do relative to the adjustment center. I've got a gun over here. I've got this over here. I've got this over here. You need to go in and remove those things. They shut down the adjustment center, tore it apart, found everything they brought in, I think every law enforcement agency, state and federal that existed, and just this huge room full of people. That's where my cooperation with law enforcement started.
Interviewer
Did you ever question sort of what you were doing? Did you feel like you were betraying your old comrades?
Mike Thompson
Never, no. No. Once I made my mind up that this is what I was going to do, that I actually had a responsibility to do this. I never looked back.
Nick Van Der Kolk
Chapter 3 defector
Mike Thompson
I told him what was going on with Curtis Price. According to the Los Angeles Times, detectives
Narrator/Reporter
flew to Eureka and uncovered evidence from Price's home.
Mike Thompson
Curtis Price was arrested and they were preparing to prosecute him. Curtis Price has been sentenced to death for two murders. A Superior Court jury reached its verdict
Narrator/Reporter
Tuesday after five days of deliberation.
Mike Thompson
The LA Sheriff's Department wanted me to testify in a couple of cases there. I actually had a list.
Narrator/Reporter
The workings of California's white supremacist prison gang unfolded under heavy scrutiny in Orange County Superior Court Tuesday in an eight year old murder case just now reaching trial. The chief prosecution witnesses are all former members of the Aryan Brotherhood. They include Michael Thompson, the alleged former head of the Aryan Brotherhood Council. Thompson is a convicted murderer who claims he left the gang because innocent people were being killed.
Mike Thompson
So they went into court and they got a court order to remove me from prison and take me down and house me in the hall of justice jail in Los Angeles. I did training films. I traveled around doing lectures with the sheriff's department and of course testified in cases.
Narrator/Reporter
Two California men, including a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, were arrested Thursday in connection with the killing of a woman, her 7 year old twins and her friend 13 years ago. Police identified Otis Buck Garrett as the secretary treasurer of the Hell's Angels Oakland chapter at the time of the killings.
Interviewer
What were you saying in the lectures?
Mike Thompson
So at the lectures usually fill an auditorium. Wherever I was at, law enforcement would come in uniforms, plain clothes, all of it. First thing I would do is I would put a hacksaw blade on me, a knife, a handcuff key, different implements that could be used for either escape or to hurt somebody. They had a metal detector set up and they brought their experts in and set the gauges and everything else. And I would walk through the metal detector and it wouldn't go off. And then I would walk to a table and I'd start coming out with all this stuff and laying it on the table and it kind of blew their minds. There was a lectern there with a microphone. So then I would move the lectern in the microphone and I would start discussing the Aryan Brotherhood, its infrastructure and so on, associates, recruitment, and just went down a list of different things to educate them about the Aryan Brotherhood. At one point they had me in a substation and they were going to film me there because I was doing training films for them. So the one training film was I was making a gun and I told them all I need is the materials that any prisoner would have in the security housing unit in the hole. And they brought me, you know, some.22 blanks. I fashioned it to chamber a.22 round. I was making this gun and a state senator came in, heard that I was there, wanted to talk to me, came in. They keyed the door. He walked in and I was leaning over this area. It was actually a bunk. I was using it as a workbench. And he kind of came around the side of me and he looked and he says, what are you doing? I said, I'm making a gun. And he turned and he ran out of the cell.
Interviewer
Who was that?
Mike Thompson
I forget the senator's name was State Senator. So I finished making the gun and I loaded it. I was supposed to show this zip gun on camera. The plan was, is that I would shoot the camera. And I did. You know, I just. I just came up and then shot. Problem was, they didn't let anybody else know that I was going to do that. So they heard this gunshot and oh, man, talk about all hell breaking those. It did. And they would take me back to the hall of Justice. They had built a pod for Sirhan Sirhan when he was going to trial. The verdict is in.
Nick Van Der Kolk
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was convicted of first
Mike Thompson
degree murder today in the assassination of
Nick Van Der Kolk
Senator Robert Kennedy last June 5th.
Mike Thompson
I had the entire 13th floor of the hall of justice to myself, and I had no deputy. That was over. And there was only one way in and one way out. Their primary concern was my safety. Convinced that someone was going to assassinate me. Because you need to remember that I was giving them information on quite a few groups when I stepped away, I fully anticipate my assassination. So, you know, that comes with the territory. You know that if you step away and particularly if you testify that you're marked. And in my case, I have an open contract, so anybody that wants to pick up that contract can. That's where I spent the next three years, you know, going in and out and out to court to testify and out to lecture. You know, we would fly into a place and, you know, first time we did that, we were going to eat. So we were going into a restaurant there at the airport.
Interviewer
Was that your first time going out into the world since you had been sent to prison?
Mike Thompson
Yeah, he was.
Interviewer
What was that like?
Mike Thompson
You know, I'd been living in Bedrock for so long that it was pretty extraordinary. So, you know, I had the opportunity to go into a restaurant and sit down and have a meal. One of my handlers, he was a sergeant, he says, look, you know, I don't want to take you in that restaurant in handcuffs. He says, do I have your word that you won't try to run? You won't do anything? And I said, yeah, you have my word. And he says, okay, that's good enough for me. Took the cuffs off and left them off.
Interviewer
How did it feel to be out?
Mike Thompson
I don't know that I gave it any thought. I was not accustomed to feeling anything. Really.
Interviewer
Yeah, I know every time I ask you that question, well, it's the truth.
Mike Thompson
Yeah, I mean, I, I could, I could make something up, you know, to make myself sound more human. But, you know, that would be disingenuous. The fact of the matter is, is that stoicism was my mainstay. So that I didn't sit and ponder, oh geez, what's this mean?
Nick Van Der Kolk
Love and Radio will return after these messages.
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Mike Thompson
Foreign.
Bethany Jones
Hey, Nick, it's Bethany. Just got off the phone with a former AB member, Gary Jo Luttrell. Not sure if you remember him, but take a listen to the conversation. I think you'll find it pretty interesting.
Nick Van Der Kolk
Chapter four. Gary Jo.
Gary Jo Luttrell
This call and your telephone number will be monitored and recorded. To accept this call, say or dial 5 now. Thank you for using Global Tail Link.
Bethany Jones
Hi, Gary Jo.
Gary Jo Luttrell
You know that's just my middle name, right?
Bethany Jones
I know. Do you prefer Gary?
Gary Jo Luttrell
Yeah. A lot of people call me Gary Joe.
Bethany Jones
And I'd like to, you know, just start getting your insight. You know, I know you have really valuable insight into Mike Thompson and everything that happened.
Gary Jo Luttrell
I. I don't mess with that game no more, period.
Bethany Jones
I know.
Gary Jo Luttrell
I've quit myself. As soon as I start trying to talk about it, they're going to cut me off. Depends on what you want. Some of it I can. Some of it I probably want.
Bethany Jones
Sure, I understand that. I guess. Let me ask you a very direct question. Do you think Mike Thompson is an honest person?
Gary Jo Luttrell
No. Not know where you shape or form.
Bethany Jones
What makes you say that?
Gary Jo Luttrell
If you believe anything he tells you, you're screwing up. I'll put it that way. Because it's gonna come back to bite you. He's gonna work you like a greasy rib. And you lady, telling you that now he's testified against a bunch of people. I never have. I mean, I guarantee we find anything out about you or anything. And they came to him and says, hey, we need to get her. We need a. This call. And your telephone number will be monitored and recorded. Tell him in a second they put one dude on death row. What's his name again?
Bethany Jones
I had to name Curtis Price.
Gary Jo Luttrell
There you go. Here's what he did to Curtis Price. Curtis Price got out. Him and Big Smitty sent Curtis Price to do that killing. He go. So Curtis Price goes and do it and just plum away with it. I mean, just plumb away with it. They don't know who done it. And then they called the U.S. attorney and told him, hey, guess what? I have some information. We have a. We have a hitman out there and he gave him up and they put him on death row they never even charged him Guys not nothing for doing that Even though they're the ones that ordered.
Poet/Artist
My body breaks down I come about feeling the vortex all around. When I stay in they serve a mile I peel off my skin and I bleed out in the sink. It is a way to rise above. And you would. If you could. It is a way to see the light. And you will. And you will.
Nick Van Der Kolk
That's it for this episode of Blood Memory. Stay tuned to the end for a sneak peek of the next installment. Music on this episode comes from Mini Componente Star of the Sea Zaroshi Sarepti Non Turn Mark nice memory scale Aud New Las Hermanas Andrew Frankel DJ1 Strange Bird Sounds, Quixosis and Botus songs. Check the show notes for the full playlist. Additional voices on this episode were provided by Bill Rolfing and Dan Conroy with contributing research by Bethany Jones. The series producer of Blood Memory is Meera Kumar. Robin Amer is our managing editor. Additional reporting by Bryan Kranz and Anya Schultz, fact checking by Nicole Pasulka and Visuals by Orla McCarty. Love and radio is a labor of love and radio and made possible thanks to our members with extra special thanks to the woman from that episode of the Secrets Hotline. Casey Anderson Cooper Moxhead at the dunks for Regula. Aaron Slygogo, Sam Hufflepuff Leaky Lucky, Jacqueline Meath Lick Kendry, Jojo Popo, Dan the Mean Ho, Ally Mothra, Harry Al A Wise Frenchman, William Asparagus Spears, Jason Vumpler and Christian Nee. I'm Nicholas Sardine. Punch Punch Vander Kolk. Thanks for listening.
Poet/Artist
Tilt the forefinger when you pull me out. Lay your puny bones aside the water. Tilt the forefinger when when you pull me out. Lay a puny bones beside the water. Tilt the forefinger when you pull me out. Lay your puny bones beside the water. Tilt the forefinger when you pull me out.
Nick Van Der Kolk
Coming up on the next episode of Blood Memory.
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Episode 06: Blood In, Blood Out
Host: Nick van der Kolk | Production: Daylight Media
Release Date: March 9, 2026
In this gripping episode, Love and Radio continues its deep dive into the world of the Aryan Brotherhood, focusing on the turning point when violence against innocents became a breaking point for one of the gang’s leaders. Through chilling first-person accounts from former leader Mike Thompson, the episode explores the internal logic and morality of gang life, the escalation of violence, and the moment when conscience overrides loyalty. The episode is rounded out with a critical alternate perspective from another former gang member, Gary Jo Luttrell, adding tension and complexity to the narrative.
Barnes Turns Witness:
Moral Limit Reached:
Conscience and Action:
No Regrets:
Role as Informant:
Ongoing Threat:
The episode is haunting and introspective—unflinching in its depictions of violence and the gray zones of morality within prison gangs. Nick van der Kolk’s calm, measured questions serve as a counterpoint to the harrowing, emotionally complex reflections of his subjects. The style remains true to Love and Radio: heavy on first-person perspective, punctuated by atmospheric sound design, and never shying away from complexity—even contradiction.
"Blood In, Blood Out" stands as one of the most morally charged and introspective chapters in the "Blood Memory" series. Through the trajectory of Mike Thompson—his rise, ethical crisis, and break from the Aryan Brotherhood—the episode raises profound questions about loyalty, conscience, and the consequences of violence. The inclusion of Gary Jo Luttrell's contradictory testimony enriches the narrative, leaving listeners to ponder the murky boundaries between victim, perpetrator, whistleblower, and self-mythologizer.