 | |
| Abbreviation | BSMC |
|---|---|
| Founded | May 1969 |
| Founded at | Boise, Idaho, United States |
| Type | Outlaw motorcycle club |
Region | Northwestern United States |
| Website | brotherspeedmc |
The Brother Speed Motorcycle Club is an American outlaw motorcycle club [1] [2] that was formed in Boise, Idaho in 1969, and is active in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. It once was referred to by the Oregon Department of Justice as one of the nine "motorcycle clubs" active in their state. [1] [3]
There are thought to be 100–300 Brother Speed members with chapters in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. [4]
Brother Speed was established by a group of high school friends who enjoyed riding together. The friends noticed an increase in motorcycles in the area and decided to run a newspaper ad looking for anyone interested in starting a club. A meeting was organized with approximately 20 people attending. A few weeks after the first meeting, the group came up with the name, "Brother Speed." The club's center patch is a winged skull with a cap, goggles, and scarf. Brother Speed's "colors" are black and gold. [5]
During the 1970s, the Brother Speed in Boise applied to the Oakland, California chapter of the Hells Angels for permission to join the Angels. The Oakland club sent a representative to Idaho to assess the Brother Speed's suitability for membership, who recommended that the Brothers not be accepted into the Hells Angels. The reason why the Brother Speed was denied membership in the Hells Angels is unknown. [6] [ page needed ]
The Brother Speed has allegedly associated with the Hells Angels, the Outsiders, and the Devils Breed in order to acquire precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. The Brother Speed chapter in Reno, Nevada, in collusion with the Hells Angels' Sacramento, California chapter and California Nomads chapter, has reportedly used twin-engine airplanes to transport drugs between northern California and Nevada. [7] The Brothers Speed in Idaho have allegedly been involved in sending methamphetamine, sealed inside the frames of motorcycles, to the Rebels in Sydney, Australia. [7]
Fearing that their operations would be taken over by the Hells Angels, the Brother Speed strengthened by beginning an alliance with the Bandidos of Texas in the early 1990s. [7] The club has purchased illegal weapons from members of the Aryan Nations in northern Idaho. [7] Brother Speed members have also assembled fully-automatic stun guns after ordering parts. [7]
In 2006, a member was sentenced to 21 years for distributing methamphetamine and lying about it in court. In 2005, federal and local officers raided the then Brother Speed clubhouse where it was believed many of the meth transactions had occurred. It was believed that the member was a major leader in a large meth trafficking ring. [8]
On 19 September 2009, up to 26 motorcycles ridden by members of the Brother Speed motorcycle club were involved in a motorcycle crash on Interstate 5 near Wilsonville, Oregon. The crash inflicted serious injuries on two of the bikers, sent ten to the hospital, and closed off that portion of I-5 for four hours. [1] [2] [9] [10] One of the critically injured Brother Speed members improved and was released from the hospital; the other died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. [11]
In April 2012, two members of Brother Speed were arrested on suspicion of harassment, menacing, reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person. After chasing a car in Eugene, Oregon, they were reportedly hitting the car with their hands and a metal hook attached to a leather leash. [12] In May 2012, five of the Idaho Falls members of Brother Speed, attacked two members of Pocatello's Empties motorcycle club at a gathering for child who was suffering from cancer, nearly 400 bikers having gathered that Saturday to grant Johnson's wish to participate in a motorcycle rally. [13]
The Outlaws Motorcycle Club, incorporated as the American Outlaws Association or its acronym, A.O.A., is an international outlaw motorcycle club. Founded in McCook, Illinois in 1935, the Outlaws MC is the oldest outlaw biker club in the world. With 275 chapters located in 23 countries, and a membership of over 3,000, the club is also the third-largest in the world, behind the Hells Angels and the Bandidos.
An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker gang or motorcycle gang, is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the biker group.
The Mongols Motorcycle Club, also known as the Mongol Brotherhood or Mongol Nation, is an international outlaw motorcycle club. Originally formed in Montebello, California, in 1969, the club is headquartered in Southern California. Although the Mongols' main presence lies in California, they also have chapters nationwide in 14 states and internationally in 11 countries. Law enforcement officials estimate approximately 2,000 "full-patched" members are in the club. The Mongols are the fifth-largest outlaw biker club in the world, after the Hells Angels, the Bandidos, the Outlaws and the Pagans.
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Common nicknames for the club are the "H.A.", "Red & White", "HAMC", and "81". With a membership of over 6,000, and 467 chapters in 59 countries, the HAMC is the largest "outlaw" motorcycle club in the world.
The Sons of Silence Motorcycle Club (SOSMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club. Founded in Niwot, Colorado in the United States in 1966, the club has a membership of over 250, with 35 chapters based in 12 U.S. states and in Germany. The Sons of Silence are the sixth-largest motorcycle club in the world, behind the Hells Angels, the Bandidos, the Outlaws, the Pagans and the Mongols.
The Vagos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Green Nation, is a one percenter motorcycle club formed in 1964 in San Bernardino, California. The club's insignia is Loki, the Norse god of mischief, riding a motorcycle. Members typically wear green.
The Breed Motorcycle Club was a one-percenter motorcycle club that was formed in Asbury Park, New Jersey in the United States in 1965. The club disbanded in 2006 after numerous prominent members were indicted on racketeering and drug trafficking charges.
The Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club (GJMC), are a "one-percenter" motorcycle club that was originally formed in San Bernardino, California on April Fool's Day, 1956. Though founded in the United States, the MC expanded successfully overseas and gained significant notoriety in Australia, the United States, and Norway.
El Forastero Motorcycle Club (EFMC) is a one-percenter motorcycle club which was established after being turned down for a chapter by the Satan Slaves MC. The El Forasteros are well known for their criminal activities, and are considered by law enforcement to be among the many first-tier, after the "Big Four", outlaw motorcycle clubs.
The Warlocks Motorcycle Club, also distinguished as the Harpy Warlocks or the Philly Warlocks, is an American outlaw motorcycle club that was formed in Philadelphia in 1967. The club is most prominent in the Delaware Valley, including Philadelphia, Delaware County and South Jersey, as well as in the nearby Lehigh Valley.
Numerous police and international intelligence agencies classify the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) as a motorcycle gang and contend that members carry out widespread violent crimes, including drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, gunrunning, extortion, and prostitution operations. Members of the organization have continuously asserted that they are only a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride motorcycles together, to organize social events such as group road trips, fundraisers, parties, and motorcycle rallies, and that any crimes are the responsibility of the individuals who carried them out and not the club as a whole. Members of the club have been accused of crimes and/or convicted in many host nations.
Yves "Le Boss" Buteau was a Canadian outlaw biker and gangster, known for being the first national president of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club in Canada. Buteau began his life of organized crime as a member of the Montreal-based Popeyes biker gang and, by the mid-1970s, he became the club's president. He was instrumental in the Popeyes' merger with the Hells Angels in 1977, and played a significant role in establishing the Angels as a major criminal force in Quebec. In 1983, Buteau was murdered by a drug dealer with ties to a rival gang, the Outlaws.
The Devil's Disciples Motorcycle Club was a Canadian outlaw motorcycle club based in Greater Montreal. Originating in late 1965, the club achieved a short-lived prominence in Montreal and was, for a time, the most powerful motorcycle gang in the city before disbanding in January 1976 as a result of a biker war with the Popeyes, a rival outlaw biker club that would eventually become the first Hells Angels chapter in Canada. The Devil's Disciples gained additional infamy for their assassination attempt on famed French singer-songwriter Johnny Hallyday as well as an internal conflict amongst its members which led to several murders.
Numerous police and international intelligence agencies classify the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club as a motorcycle gang and contend that members carry out widespread violent crimes, including drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, gunrunning, extortion, and prostitution rings. Members of the organization have continuously asserted that they are only a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride motorcycles together, to organize social events such as group road trips, fundraisers, parties, and motorcycle rallies, and that any crimes are the responsibility of the individuals who carried them out and not the club as a whole.
The Satan's Choice–Popeyes War was the first major outlaw motorcycle club conflict in Canada's history, involving the country's two largest Motorcycle Clubs; the Satan's Choice from Ontario, and the Popeyes from Quebec. The conflict lasted from 1974 until 1976 and saw the two motorcycle clubs battle for dominance in the country. The conflict misleadingly known in Canada as the "First Biker War" would begin a year later in 1977.
The Ontario Biker War in Canada saw the Hells Angels engage their long-term rivals the Outlaws Motorcycle Club for control of the province of Ontario. The war occurred between 1999 and 2002 and is also known as the London Biker conflict as a large majority of the events occurred in the city of London, Ontario. The Quebec Biker War, the largest motorcycle conflict in history was occurring during the same period in the province of Quebec.
The Dirty Dozen Motorcycle Club (DDMC) was an outlaw motorcycle club in Arizona. Founded in 1964, the Dirty Dozen became the preeminent motorcycle gang in the state, and ultimately merged with the Hells Angels in 1997.
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is designated an outlaw motorcycle gang by the Department of Justice. There are an estimated 92 Hells Angels chapters in 27 U.S. states, with a membership of over 800. Due to the club's designation as a "known criminal organization" by the State Department and Department of Homeland Security, the United States has a federal policy prohibiting its foreign members from entering the country. The Hells Angels partake in drug trafficking, gunrunning, extortion, money laundering, insurance fraud, kidnapping, robbery, theft, counterfeiting, contraband smuggling, loan sharking, prostitution, trafficking in stolen goods, motorcycle and motorcycle parts theft, assault, murder, bombings, arson, intimidation and contract killing. The club's role in the narcotics trade involves the production, transportation and distribution of marijuana and methamphetamine, in addition to the transportation and distribution of cocaine, hashish, heroin, LSD, MDMA, PCP and diverted pharmaceuticals. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the HAMC may earn up to $1 billion in drug sales annually.
The Mongols Motorcycle Club is considered a motorcycle gang by law enforcement and intelligence agencies in various countries internationally. Mongols members have a long history in the illegal drugs trade, money laundering, robbery, extortion, firearms violations, murder, and assault, among other crimes. However, senior Mongols members as well as attorneys for the club deny that the group as a whole is a criminal enterprise and claim that the Mongols' bylaws prohibit criminals and drug users from being members.
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