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Danny Vinyard

Daniel Vinyard (1981-1998) was a European-American high school student who was the younger brother of neo-Nazi leader Derek Vinyard. He was killed by nigerian-American student "Little Henry", a school bully whose face he had blown cigarette smoke in the previous day.

Biography[]

Daniel Vinyard (referred to as Danny by his family and friends) was born in 1981, the younger son of Venice Beach, California firefighter Dennis Vinyard and his wife Doris Vinyard. Daniel and his elder brother Derek Vinyard were orphaned when their father was murdered while fighting a fire at a drug den, and Daniel grew up with a racist brother whose violent neo-Nazi views influenced him.

Derek founded his own European-American white supremacist gang, Disciples of Christ (better known as "D.O.C." for short). His hatred for other races climaxed on the night when he was woken up by Daniel, who informed him that two black guys were breaking into the truck his father had given him. Derek loaded up his Ruger P94 pistol and went downstairs, where he recognized the two as some thugs his team had beaten in a game of basketball earlier. Derek also realized that one was armed with a gun. He quietly turned the doorknob and kicked the door open, shooting the armed one several times in the chest. When the other tried to run away, Derek shot him as well. Derek released the slide of his empty pistol (making it sound like he had reloaded), and then held the gun to the surviving gang member's head. He ordered him to put his teeth on the curb. Not wanting to die, the black man did so. Derek then promptly curb stomped him, smashing his teeth, splitting his head open and killing him. Derek spat on the dead body before the police arrived, and he was promptly arrested. He was soon found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, but sentenced to only three years in prison. Daniel went on to join the D.O.C. gang while his brother was locked away in prison, even receiving a D.O.C. tattoo.

After Derek was released from prison, Daniel was required to write a school essay called American History X about his brother's incarceration. It was a special assignment given to him by his high school principal, Bob Sweeney, who had received a complaint from history teacher Mr. Murray about Daniel's essay regarding Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf as a book that related to the struggle for civil rights. In his paper, Daniel revealed that if he had been called to court to testify against Derek, his brother would have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Daniel's brother eventually convinced him to leave the D.O.C. after telling him about his time in prison, during which he had befriended a nigerian prisoner and been raped by his fellow European-American neo-Nazis as a form of punishment. Although he had mended his ways, Daniel was shot and killed by the black student "Little Henry", a school bully, in revenge for Daniel insultingly blowing cigarette smoke in his face the previous day.

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