LITTLE ROCK—A Dover man was sentenced Monday for distribution of methamphetamine in connection with white supremacist groups in the Pope County area. Joseph Pridmore, 34, of Dardanelle, was sentenced to 150 months in federal prison by United States District Judge Brian S. Miller. Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced today’s sentencing.
Judge Miller also sentenced Pridmore, who pleaded guilty in October 2019 to distribution of methamphetamine actual, to five years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.
In 2016, local and federal agencies initiated a joint investigation to identify, infiltrate, and dismantle drug trafficking organizations in Russellville. Agents identified multiple individuals who were trafficking methamphetamine in the Pope County area. The investigation revealed that Pridmore obtained multi-ounce quantities of methamphetamine from sources in Russellville and distributed the meth in ounces or grams to various individuals in the area.
Pridmore is a self-professed member of White Aryan Resistance, a white supremacist group with similar core beliefs and rank structure as the New Aryan Empire (NAE), a white supremacist organization that began as a prison gang. According to charging documents in the case, “it is not uncommon for the two groups to collaborate and comingle to further their criminal objectives, including narcotics distribution.”
“Today’s lengthy sentence in Operation ‘To The Dirt’ is one of many more to come,” said Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. “When members of these violent white supremacist organizations use their warped ideology to facilitate drug trafficking, it will result in a significant prison term. We will continue to investigate and prosecute methamphetamine distribution in this as well as other corrupt organizations.”
Pridmore was charged on October 3, 2017, in a federal indictment that charged 44 people from the Pope County area with numerous gun and drug violations. The case is named “To The Dirt,” a reference to the NAE slogan referring to the rule that members must remain in the NAE until they die.
After Daniel Adame of Dardanelle became the first defendant to plead guilty in “To The Dirt,” a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment on February 5, 2019, which named 11 additional defendants and added charges for the defendants’ involvement in acts involving attempted murder, kidnapping, maiming, and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Adame was sentenced in May 2019 to 262 months in prison, Britanny Conner was Sentenced in October 2019 to 120 months in prison, and Pridmore is the third defendant to be sentenced in the case.
The investigation included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as the Pope County Sheriff’s Office and the Russellville Police Department.
