Night in mississippi. Im on an under cover stake out on highway 59. Where criminal gangs are known to traffic in drugs and sex. Are you currently in the hotel . This part of the south is home turf for a gang id never heard of. The simon city royals. I love this organization. Id die for this. The royals are mostly white. But they arent white supremacist. Theres not a racist thing. Theyre involved in prostitution and guns. The Main Business is dealing meth. Fuelling a major epidemic across the state. They taught me the way of the streets, the guns. They use violence as part of the ply back. Even against their own. I want to know who are these selfproclaimed red neck gangsters. They call us white trash. Getting to the truth wont approximate easy. Is there a leader of the royals . Thats not something we can discuss. This story about a mississippi gang starts 800 miles away. In chicago. The simon city royals first emerged here in the 1950s as a mostly italian immigrant street gang. Fighting puerto rico for control of the north side neighborhood. It was like something out of west side story. This was no musical. Over time, the royals evolved into a violent street gang. They developed their own identity. With royal blue as their main color, and a six point star as the symbol. By the late 90s they spread to the midwest and south. Including mississippi. Where they are now the Fastest Growing gang in the state. Primarily what are the crimes that simon city royals are involved . Narcotics. I have been given the chance to ride along with local Law Enforcement. As they patrol a strip of highway 49. Where the simon city royals are known to operate. Ill start looking for people wearing the colors. The royals include some black and female members. They are overwhelmingly white men. They have been cracking down on them for ten years. Why is this gang growing as fast as it is . The main reason is poverty. Poverty and crime go hand in hand. And i think a lot of the guys join us with it to have a sense of belonging. And sense of protection. Captain spotted a suspicious car. Without a license plate. He thinks he recognizes the driver. I have known the driver since he was a juvenile. I think hes on parole or probation. The officer searched the vehicle and find drugs. Thats not all. In the backseat is a blue bandanna. A dead give away this man has some connection to the royals. Can i see your arm . Is that a six point star. Yes, maam. Are you a royal . Used to be. I stopped that gang banging stuff. Stealing and driving. Thats what we did. You want to be a part of it. How many times have you been locked up . Too many. Youre only 18 . Im 24. Do you know how many times you have been locked up . I have been out one christmas since i was 18. Law enforcement says that the number of royals is growing quickly. Everybody is in prison. Go to prison you want to be part of something. You dont want people to jump on you. You want back up. Why did you they can hurt me. You dont want to talk about the organization . No. I want to take off running right now. Word of advice is dont do it. Dont get involved. It dont matter. Family is all that matters. Thank you. The officers decide theres not enough evidence to arrest the suspect. And they let him go. He didnt give away any secrets but our chat has opened a window for me. Into the world of the simon city royals. A fear of seeing too much. And a chilling warning to steer clear of the gang. They seem to have a real fear of talking openly. My guess is hes afraid hell Say Something that wont be acceptable. And then someone high ranking will order a violation and hell g beaten up. For saying the wrong thing. He says hes no longer affiliated. Do you believe that . Its drugs, prostitution, guns and hes here at 2 00 a. M. With the gang colors. But i dont know. This is mississippi. With its cotton farms and country churches. Deep in the heart of the bible belt. With an Unemployment Rate well above the National Average and the lowest Household Income in the country. So called magnolia state is short on opportunity. And now, mississippi has a gang problem. Since 2010, Law Enforcement has been cracking down. Making thousands of arrests and seizing large quantities of the illegal guns, opioid and marijuana. And the overwhelming drug of choice here. Meth. The simon city royals are still the Fastest Growing gang in the state. Recruiting members behind bars. We are at the jail. And told by jail officials that about 40 of the inmates here are gang members and that many of them are simon city royals. So were going to try and see if we can get some of them to talk today. Assistant warden takes me to the tower. From here, every move the prisoners make is monitored. Kconducting head count. Do you have a lot of simon city royals . Yes. Thats the predominant gang population. Down on the cell block the royals are locked up with rival gangs. Including their arch enemy. The vice lords. Everybody is on guard. And watching their backs. Do a lot of guys get recruit nd jail . They have to for protection. Join up in order to survive prison. You have an 18 yearold male come through. This is his first time in jail. He thinks he can become a part of them. And he has family. If you look onto the tears, can you point out the simon city royals. Theyre identifiable. By tattoos. This one on the phone. The few up in the top. Can they see us . Yes. Theyre trying to figure out who you are. Word gets around the cell block. Im here to speak with the simon city royals. One of the gang members says he wants to talk to me. Close the door please. [ engine accelerating ] [ typing ] loreals magic root cover up. Three seconds to flawless roots. 3. 2. 1. Roots gone. Magic root cover up by loreal paris. Look for the turqoise one. With sofi, get your credit cards right ting your Credit Card Debt into one monthly payment. 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What is that symbol right there . As we are the United States of america and we have the red, white, and blue, they have the sixpoint star. The points of the star are the six points in which theyre supposed to live and abide by. And they stand for wisdom, knowledge, understanding, loyalty, life, and love. Its what theyre supposed to base their life on. But in truth, its a facade. This tattoo, death before dishonor. Theyre supposed to live by that code as well. They are not supposed to give out any information. Before they tell you any information, before they tell me any information, they are either to kill me or kill themselves. So this isnt a game to them. This is their way of life. They live by this. The paranoia and fear ive heard about so far is real. The gang polices its own with brutality. One of the most notorious cases of enforcement hit the news in 2013 when gang member welford lee mccarty, aka pork chop, carried out a hit on a fellow royal suspected of snitching. Pork chop shot his victim in the face and then chopped up and distributed his body piece by piece in the backwoods of greene county. So frankly im shocked that one of the royals at Hancock County jail actually volunteered to speak with me. The code of silence and what could happen if you break it demands that we conceal his identity. How old were you when you got involved in gangs . Ive never been involved in a gang. This is an organization. I started out when i was about 12 years old. And what was it about that lifestyle that appealed to you . I like a fast life. I like quick money, girls, and i thought thats what i want to do the rest of my life. And at what point did you get connected with the simon city royals . I didnt know what it was until i actually hit prison. And i found out what they were really about. So is it a street gang or a prison gang . Its neither. Its an organization. So when youve committed a crime, you come to jail. Youll see seven or eight of us over here at a table with a big meal. Were all eating and laughing and having a good time. If somebody says something four or five of us walk over. Have you hurt people . Of course. Ive been inside of these walls for the last three years. So you got to stand up for what youre doing. How many of your brothers have been killed . Last year, at least five or six in the prison system. Out in the streets in the last two years, at least five or six close friends, really close friends. How does one become a member of the royals . First off, you go under a sixmonth observation period to see if you even qualify to be royal material. Then comes the hard part. They put you in what we call the crack. Its two guys for one minute. You gotta fight. According to my understanding, the royals are actually one of the Fastest Growing gangs in the state of mississippi. One of the Fastest Growing organizations for the simple fact that everybody is learning about it, and thats what they want to be. But to truly be a royal, you got to understand our bylaws and the way we do ourselves. Just because you say im a royal and you get a couple tattoos dont make you a royal. Royal is in your heart. Royal is in the way you live. So what youre saying is the simon city royals is a brotherhood . Yes, maam. Most definitely. When you bring a brotherhood from a penitentiary to the streets and especially here in mississippi, we have a meth epidemic. Methamphetamine is so bad here and once they start getting high and using, then they start using the royal name with this drug trade. So now youve got 12 royals in a meth ring getting high. I have the same problem that mississippi has got. Im a meth addict. Ive been doing drugs since i was 12, 13 years old. Do you have kids . Yes, i have kids. Would you want any of your kids to join the organization . My son, his first picture was with a royal flag. Hes destined to be a royal. So if he can do the right thing and lead the royals in the right path, yes, i want him to be a royal. This inmate is not only proud to be a loyal but considers it a legacy to pass on to his son. But something isnt adding up for me. He told me about violence and addiction, but the royals sixpoint code honors wisdom, knowledge, and love. What about those . Simon city is about betting ourselves and our communities. The good news . Our protection lasts all day. The bad news . So will this recital. New depend® fitflex underwear offers your best comfort and protection guaranteed. Because, perfect or not, lifes better when youre in it. Be there with depend®. You may be at increased risk for Pneumococcal Pneumonia a potentially serious bacterial lung disease that can disrupt your life for weeks. In severe cases, Pneumococcal Pneumonia can put you in the hospital. 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Everyone . Everyone. Lets send to everyone [ camera clicking ] wifi up there . Ahhh. Sure, why not . Howd he get out . a camera might figure it out. That was easy glad i could help. At xfinity, were here to make life simple. Easy. Awesome. So come ask, shop, discover at your xfinity store today. After just a few days in mississippi, word has spread around the state that im here to talk to the simon city royals. We hear from another jail up in Forrest County that a group of royals wants to talk to me without hiding their identities. Their only condition, that i speak to them as a group. How are you doing . Im lisa. They may want to protect each other from saying anything their leadership wont approve of. Maybe theres safety in numbers. But im not sure why they want to talk to me. How old were you when you became a royal . 15 during hurricane katrina. I moved to mississippi, and i was told, man, if youre white and if youre a gangster, you got to be a royal. I agreed with the concepts and stuff. I liked it, and i proved myself. I just knew from the jump thats what i was going to be. I just knew it. I didnt want no other direction. So how many family members were royals when you became one . A lot of my cousins come to find out later on, there were more. I got to meet talking to them on facebook. Theres a lot of them. Did you know any of these guys before you came in here . I didnt know. But you love them like a brother . I love them like a brother. Im going to take care of them. Theyll vouch for that. Is there a leader of the royals . I dont think thats something that we can discuss. Can you talk about how you kind of rise and fall in rank . Its about how you carry yourself, the person you are and how you protect your brothers. Everythings observed. I heard theres like that someone can become a crown prince. Can can you talk about how that you cant . Okay. With all the secrecy ive encountered so far, its no surprise that these royals dont want to tell me about their leadership. But they do want to talk about their code and the surprising place they get their inspiration. We cant just tell you but a lot of it comes from the bible. A lot of it does. A lot of people dont realize how much simon city follows the word. We follow the word, and were christians. Theres a bad perception of what we are, and its not right. Were about bettering ourselves, our families, and our communities. Positive, productive principles, growth and development. We have charitable organizations. We help people. Theres a sincerity about these guys that makes me want to believe them. But im not convinced i can take them at their word. Law enforcement says that the royals are a criminal organization, that were not supposed to have no criminal activity going on. Simon city is not a bad organization. Law enforcement calls us criminal because of what we do as individuals. Were not supposed to be in jail. Were supposed to be bettering ourselves, our families and our communities. So, you know, if being a royal is about this brotherhood and about being positive, why are there so many royals locked up . It just seems like especially here in mississippi, its due to drugs. Some people, they think that, oh, man, i can control it. But then after a while, its just like anything. It takes control of you. Look at these jails. Probably 60 of people in here right now if not more than that are in here because of drugs. My only motivation was bettering my family. I got a little girl that means everything to me. I went the wrong way about doing it. I partook in selling drugs, and it was quick, easy money. It was fast money, and now im answering for it. I take responsibility for being one of the brothers that has given my organization a bad name. Obviously im sitting here in shackles. This is completely against what simon city represents. If people knew the good thats in this, we wouldnt have the rep like a criminal organization, we wouldnt have a rap as a gang because were not gang. I love this organization, and ill die for this. I will. Now i get why they wanted to talk. They want the world to believe that the goals of the organization are to better society. But can the simon city royals really deliver on these high ideals . To find out more, i need to go to the top. Next on my journey, i meet a boss. Somebody living with hiv . Keep being you. And ask your doctor about biktarvy. Biktarvy is a complete onepill, onceaday treatment used for hiv in certain adults. Its not a cure, but with one small pill, biktarvy fights hiv with three different medicines to help you get to undetectable. That means the amount of virus is so low it cant be measured in lab tests. Serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. 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