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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 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 Blue Angels Motorcycle Club (BAMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle gang formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1963. The Blue Angels MC is the oldest outlaw biker club in Europe, and one of the largest and most powerful clubs in the United Kingdom. The club has chapters in Scotland, England, Belgium and Spain.
The Comanchero Motorcycle Club is an outlaw motorcycle gang in Australia and South East Asia. The Comancheros are participants in the United Motorcycle Council of NSW, which convened a conference in 2009 to address legislation aimed against the "bikie" clubs, their poor public image in the wake of several violent clashes and ongoing biker wars, and defusing deadly feuds such as the Comancheros' battles with the Hells Angels. The sincerity of these efforts to defend the battered image of the clubs has been met with skepticism.
The Finks are an Australian outlaw motorcycle club that was formed in Adelaide, Australia, in 1969 and now also has chapters in other states. The name comes from The Wizard of Id cartoon where the peasants, to his dismay, often proclaim, "The King is a fink!". The logo used by the Finks is of Bung, the king's jester. The pants worn by the jester used to differ in colour depending on the state the chapter resides in.
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 is now one of the most notorious motorcycle clubs in Australia, the United States, and Norway.
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.
On July 20, 2012, a mass shooting occurred inside a Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, United States, during a midnight screening of the film The Dark Knight Rises. Dressed in tactical clothing, 24-year-old James Holmes set off tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms. Twelve people were killed, and 70 others were injured, 58 of them from gunfire.
On May 17, 2015, in Waco, Texas, United States, a shootout erupted at a Twin Peaks restaurant where more than 200 persons, including members from motorcycle clubs that included the Bandidos, Cossacks, and allies, had gathered for a meeting about political rights for motorcyclists. Law enforcement, which included 18 Waco Police Department officers and four Texas Highway Patrol troopers, had gathered to monitor the restaurant and meeting from outside, and, according to police, "returned fire after being shot at". Nine bikers were killed, 18 others wounded or injured, and 177 individuals were ultimately arrested and initially detained in connection with the shootout, most for alleged participation in organized crime. According to The New York Times, "the response by prosecutors was widely criticized as brazen overreach". According to the Waco Tribune-Herald, the shootout led to a "four-year prosecutorial fiasco that resulted in zero convictions."
Iron Order Motorcycle Club (IOMC) is a motorcycle club that was formed on July 4, 2004, in Jeffersonville, Indiana. With a worldwide membership, the Iron Order is one of the largest and fastest growing motorcycle clubs in the world. The IOMC has chapters in nearly every U.S. state and in 11 countries around the world. It is an all inclusive club and any are free to join membership is open to all members of society
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 Rock Machine–Rebels conflict is an ongoing conflict between the Rock Machine and Rebels motorcycle gangs in Perth, Western Australia. The conflict began in 2009 and has continued sporadically, with both clubs competing for territory and control of criminal rackets.
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 Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC), an international outlaw biker gang, has been involved in multiple crimes, alleged crimes, and violent incidents in Australia. The Hells Angels are legally classified as a criminal organisation in the Australian state of Queensland, and there have been attempts to classify them as such in New South Wales. The Hells Angels have been linked with drug trafficking and production, as well as a host of violent crimes including murder, in Australia.
The Bandidos Motorcycle Club has been designated an outlaw motorcycle gang by the U.S. Department of Justice. The club is involved in drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, explosives violations, motorcycle and motorcycle-parts theft, intimidation, insurance fraud, kidnapping, robbery, theft, stolen property, counterfeiting, contraband smuggling, murder, bombings, extortion, arson and assault. The Bandidos partake in transporting and distributing cocaine and marijuana, and the production, transportation and distribution of methamphetamine. Active primarily in the Northwestern, Southeastern, Southwestern and the West Central regions, there are an estimated 800 to 1,000 Bandidos members and 93 chapters in 16 U.S. states.
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.
References
- 1 2 3 4 Stack, Liam; Southall, Ashley (January 30, 2016). "One Dead and Several Wounded in Shooting at Colorado Motorcycle Expo". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
- 1 2 3 McGhee, Tom (January 30, 2016). "Motorcycle club lawyer: members attacked by rival gangs at Denver expo". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
- ↑ "Attorney: Fatality Was Member of Motorcycle Club". ABC News. January 30, 2016. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
- 1 2 Contreras, Oscar (January 31, 2016). "Victim in Colorado Motorcycle Expo biker club shooting identified as Victor Mendoza". 7NEWS. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
- ↑ Ellis, Ralph (January 30, 2016). "1 killed, 7 hurt in shootings, stabbing at Denver motorcycle show, police say". Fox 13 Now. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
- ↑ Horan, Kyle (January 31, 2016). "Biker club lawyers tell differing stories of expo shooting". 7NEWS. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
- 1 2 "Breaking news on Denver Coliseum shootings, Jan. 30, 2016". Breaking News. January 31, 2016. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
- ↑ "Denver cancels second day of motorcycle expo after shooting kills one". Denver Post. January 30, 2016. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
- ↑ Gurman, Sadie (February 2, 2016). "Fast-growing motorcycle group is largely for law enforcement". Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.