biker gangs

An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker club or club (in Australia), 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 subculture emerged in the United States in the late 1940s and has since spread globally.

In the United States, such motorcycle clubs (MCs) are considered "outlaw" not necessarily because they engage in criminal activity but because they are not sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and do not adhere to the AMA's rules. Instead, the clubs have bylaws reflecting the outlaw biker culture.

The U.S. Department of Justice defines "outlaw motorcycle gangs" (OMG) as "organizations whose members use their motorcycle clubs as conduits for criminal enterprises".

Organization and leadership

While organizations may vary, the typical internal organization of a motorcycle club consists of a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, road captain, and sergeant-at-arms (sometimes known as enforcer). In some clubs, localized groups of a single, prominent MC are called ''charters'' or ''chapters'', and the first chapter established for an MC is referred to as the ''mother chapter''. The mother chapter serves as the ruling body of the club.Organized Crime in Pennsylvania: A Decade of Change
p. 192, Pennsylvania Crime Commission (1990) Sometimes, the president of the mother chapter serves as the president of the entire MC, and sets club policy on a variety of issues, whereas other clubs either elect or appoint a National President for this role.

Larger motorcycle clubs often acquire real estate for use as a clubhouse or private compound. Clubhouses, which are frequently fortified and equipped with a sophisticated security system, serve as a meeting place for a club or chapter.Bonds of Brotherhood: The Origin and Growth of Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs
Heather Hamilton, Office of Justice Programs (2002) To meet the expenditures of running an outlaw motorcycle club, namely the renting, purchase or furnishing of a clubhouse, groups raise funds primarily through membership dues and club fines, the sale of various items to members, the brokerage of club shares, sponsoring parties and organizing motorcycle trips. Some clubs also maintain a fund for the legal defense of its members.Policing Organized Crime
p. 159 Peter Gottschalk (2010)

Membership

Some "biker" clubs employ a process whereby members must pass several stages, such as "friend of the club", "hang-around", and "prospect", on their way to becoming full-patch (see the explanation of 'patching' below) members. The actual stages and membership process can and often do vary widely from club to club. Usually, an individual must pass a membership vote and swear some level of allegiance to the club. Some clubs have a unique club patch (cut or top rocker) adorned with the term MC that are worn on the rider's vest, known as a kutte.

In these clubs, some amount of hazing may occur during the early stages (i.e., hang-around, prospecting) ranging from the mandatory performance of menial labor tasks for full patch members to sophomoric pranks and, in rare cases with some outlaw motorcycle clubs, acts of violence. During this time, the prospect may wear the club name on the back of their vest but not the entire logo, though this practice may vary from club to club. To become a full member, the prospect or probate must be voted on by the rest of the full club members. Successful admission usually requires more than a simple majority, and some clubs may reject a prospect or a probate for a single dissenting vote. A formal induction follows, in which the new member affirms his loyalty to the club and its members. The final logo patch is then awarded. Full members are often referred to as "full patch members" or "patchholders" and the step of attaining full membership can be referred to as "being patched".

Outlaw biker culture

The majority of members of outlaw motorcycle clubs have no serious criminal record and express their outlaw status on a social level, equating the word "outlaw" with disregard for the law of groups like the American Motorcyclist Association, not the laws of government. Outlaw bikers view themselves as a fraternity of men who reject societal norms, and their sense of brotherhood is reflected in tattoos, the wearing of the club "colors", and earning ranks and titles within a club or chapter.Organized Crime in Pennsylvania: A Decade of Change
p. 193, Pennsylvania Crime Commission (1990) However, there is also a subculture of outlaw biker activity which revolves around performing outrageous acts, the denigration of women, maintaining a macho image, and the heavy use of drugs and alcohol.

Many non-outlaw motorcycle clubs adopt similar insignia, colors, organizational structures, and trappings to outlaw clubs, making it difficult for outsiders (including police) to tell the groups apart. Much of the mystique and many of the unwritten rules, values, and ideals of non-outlaw clubs are believed to come from outlaw clubs.

Charity events

Outlaw clubs are often prominent at charity events, such as toy runs. Charitable giving is frequently cited as evidence that these clubs do not deserve their negative media image. Outlaw clubs have been accused of using charity rides to mask their criminal nature. The American Motorcyclist Association has frequently complained of the bad publicity for motorcycling in general caused by outlaw clubs, and they have said that the presence of outlaw clubs at charity events has harmed people in need by driving down public participation and reducing donations. Events such as a 2005 shootout between rival outlaw clubs amid a charity toy drive in California have raised fears about the participation of outlaw biker clubs in charity events. Authorities have attempted to ban outlaw clubs from charity events or to restrict the wearing of colors at events to avert the sort of inter-club violence that has happened at previous charity runs. In 2002, the Warlocks MC of Pennsylvania sued over their exclusion from a charity event.

Identification

The primary visual identification of an outlaw motorcycle club member is the vest adorned with a large club-specific patch or patches predominantly located in the middle of the back. The patches will contain a club logo, the club's name, the letters MC, and a possible state, province, or other chapter identification. This garment and the patches themselves are referred to as the ''colors'' or '' cut'' (a term taken from the early practice of cutting the collars or sleeves from a denim or leather jacket). Many non-outlaw motorcycle riding clubs such as the Harley Owners Group also wear patches on the back of their vests, without including the letters ''MC''.

The club patches always remain the property of the club itself, not the members, and only members are allowed to wear the club's patches. Hang-arounds or support club members wear support patches with the club's colors. A member must closely guard their colors, for allowing one's colors to fall into the hands of an outsider is an act of disgrace and may result in loss of membership in a club or some other punishment.

One-, two-, and three-piece patches

The colors worn by members of some motorcycle clubs will sometimes follow a convention of using either a one-piece patch for nonconformist social clubs, a two-piece patch for clubs ''paying dues'', a three-piece patch for ''outlaw'' clubs or side patches. The ''three-piece patch'' consists of the club logo and the top and bottom patches, usually crescent-shaped, which are referred to as rockers. The number and arrangement of patches somewhat indicate the club's nature. Since many motorcycle clubs wear the three-piece patch arrangement, this does not necessarily suggest that a club is an outlaw motorcycle club.

Law enforcement agencies have confiscated colors and other club paraphernalia of these clubs when they raid a clubhouse or the home of a MC member, and they often display these items at press conferences. These items are then used at trial to support prosecution assertions that MC members perform criminal acts on behalf of their club. Courts have found that the probative value of such items is far outweighed by their unfairly prejudicial effects on the defense.

One percenter

Some outlaw motorcycle clubs can be distinguished by a "1%" or "Diamond" shape patch worn on the colors. This is said to refer to a comment made in 1960 by William Berry, a former president of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), that 99% of motorcyclists were law-abiding citizens, implying the last one percent were outlaws.Bikers brought years of feuding – and guns – to town
Michael Beebe and Dan Herbeck, ''The Buffalo News'' (October 2, 1994) ()

The alleged AMA comment, supposedly about the Hollister riot of 1947, is denied by the AMA, which claims to have no record of such a statement to the press and that the story is a misquote.In March 1972 (p. 3), Chas Deane, the editor of '' Motorcycle Mechanics'', wrote: "Motorcycling is a way of life, almost a religion to some and the next best thing to breathing for others. There is no such thing as a 'typical motorcyclist'; on the one hand we're outcasts and 'one percenters', while on the other hand we are the 'in' people." Whether the original quote is true or not, the "1%" patch is worn only by clubs characterized by criminality.

Outlaw clubs began wearing the "1%" patch after Hells Angels president Sonny Barger convened a meeting of the leaders of various Hells Angels chapters and other California clubs in 1960 in which the multiple clubs parleyed over the mutual problem of police harassment. The clubs voted to ally under the patch. In 1963, the Outlaws became the first club east of the Mississippi River to begin wearing the "1%" emblem.17 Things You Didn't Know About The Outlaws Motorcycle Club
Arun Singh Pundir, hotcars.com (August 27, 2021)

Other patches

Other patches may be worn by members, including phrases and symbols. The style or meaning of these other patches can vary between clubs. Some, such as a skull and crossbones patch, or the motto "Respect Few, Fear None", are worn in some clubs by members who commit murder or other acts of violence on behalf of the club.

There are also ''wings'' or ''biker's wings'', which are earned similarly to jump wings or pilot's wings, but with various color-coded meanings, e.g., in some clubs, it is said that a member who has had sex with a woman with venereal disease can wear ''green wings''. It has also been suggested that these definitions are a hoax, intended to make fools of those outside the outlaw biker world and also to serve the purpose of provoking outrage among the conservative public and authorities.

Frequently, additional patches may involve symbols, such as the use of the Iron Cross, Nazi swastikas, the Sig Rune insignia of the Schutzstaffel or the '' Totenkopf''. These may not indicate Nazi sympathies but serve to express the outlaw biker's total rejection of social constraints and desire for the shock value among those who fail to understand the biker way.

Gender and race

Most outlaw motorcycle clubs do not allow women to become full-patch members. Rather, in some 1%er clubs, women have in the past been portrayed as submissive or victims to the men, treated as property, forced into prostitution or street-level drug trafficking, and often physically and sexually abused, their roles as being those of obedient followers and their status as objects. These women are claimed to pass over any pay they receive to their partners or sometimes to the entire club. This appears to make these groups extremely gender segregated. This has not always been the case, as during the 1950s and 1960s, some Hells Angels chapters had female members.

Academic research has criticized the methodology of such previous studies as being "vague and hazy" and lacking in participant demography.Depicting outlaw motorcycle club women using anchored and unanchored research methodologies. van den Eynde, Julie University of Queensland, Australia and Veno, Arthur Monash University, Australia Such reports may have made clear statements and authoritative analyses about the role of women associated with outlaw motorcycle clubs, but few state how they have come to such conclusions; one admitting that, " isinterviews with biker women were limited lest isintentions were misinterpreted" by their male companions and that such views of women are mythic and "sexist research" in itself, using deeply flawed methodologies and serve two highly political purposes of maintaining a dominance myth of women by men and amplifying the deviance of the male club members.

These myths about the women are: that they are subservient working-class women, used as objects for club sexual rites; are hard-bitten, unattractive, and politically conservative; and that they are 'money makers' for the biker men and clubs, i.e., prostitutes, topless barmaids or strippers who are forced to hand over their money to the club. A 1990 paper noted the changing role of women within outlaw motorcycle clubs, and a 2000 paper stated that they now have agency and political savvy, reframing the narratives of their lives. "We did it. We showed them we are real women dealing with real men. I'd much prefer to be living with an OMC member than some dork who is a pawn in the system", said one woman who felt she and her peers had "set the record straight". One woman in 2001 described the previous work done by men about women in the outlaw motorcycle club world by saying "the men that wrote that must be meatheads". They omenare part of the scene because they want to be and enjoy it. These women have broken from society's stereotypically defined roles and found freedom in the biker world.

High-profile outlaw bikers have historically been white, and their clubs are typically exclusively racially homogeneous. Other sources state outright that "With few exceptions, blacks are excluded from membership or riding with one-percenter biker clubs." The average age for a club studied was 34.

There are black clubs, white clubs, and Mexican and other Spanish-speaking clubs. Bikers in American prisons, as prisoners generally do, band together along racial lines.Dozens of outlaw bikers arrested in ATF sting
NBC News, 21 October 2008 It is claimed that racial discrimination within clubs has led to creation of rival clubs in the past, such as the Mongols Motorcycle Club chapter. Some clubs or individual chapters are now multi-racial, but the number of "white supremacist biker clubs are growing nationwide", according to the ADL.

Outlaw motorcycle clubs and crime

Many members of outlaw motorcycle clubs engage in criminal activities and organized crime and "pose a serious domestic threat". Law enforcement agencies perceive such individuals and motorcycle clubs as being unique among criminal groups because they maintain websites and businesses, identify themselves through patches and tattoos, write and obey constitutions and bylaws, trademark their club names and logos, and even hold publicity campaigns aimed at improving their public image. The term "outlaw motorcycle gang" was coined by the journalist Hunter S. Thompson in 1966 and was subsequently adopted by federal and local law enforcement agencies in the United States and elsewhere.

Outlaw motorcycle clubs as criminal enterprises

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Criminal Intelligence Service Canada have designated four MCs as "outlaw motorcycle gangs": the Hells Angels, the Pagans, the Outlaws, and the Bandidos, known as the "Big Four". These four have a large enough national impact to be prosecuted under the U.S. Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute. The California Attorney General also lists the Mongols and the Vagos as outlaw motorcycle gangs.

The FBI asserts that outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) support themselves primarily through drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, and extortion and that they fight over territory and the illegal drug trade and collect $1 billion in illegal income annually.Biker Gangs in Canada
CBC News, 5 April 2007Look Homeward Angel: Cycle Icon Sonny Barger Kick-Starts Life as a Free Man by Violating Parole
- by Philip Martin, Phoenix New Times, 2 December 1992.
Motorcycle gangs frequently begin mutually beneficial partnerships with independent criminals and maintain an extensive network of associates by doing so. Crimes are typically carried out by associates rather than "full patch" members to protect the club from implication by law enforcement. In 1985 a three-year, eleven-state FBI operation named Roughrider culminated in the largest OMG bust in history, with the confiscation of $2 million worth of illegal drugs, as well as an illegal arsenal of weapons, ranging from Uzi submachine guns to antitank weapons. In October 2008, the FBI announced the end of a six-month undercover operation by agents into the narcotics trafficking by the Mongols Motorcycle Club. The bust went down with 160 search warrants and 110 arrest warrants

Canada, especially, has in the late 20th century experienced a significant upsurge in crime involving outlaw motorcycle clubs, most notably in what has been dubbed the Quebec Biker War, which has involved more than 150 murders (plus a young bystander killed by an exploding car bomb), 84 bombings, and 130 cases of arson.Organized Crime Fact Sheet
- Public Safety Canada The increased violence in Canada has been attributed to turf wars over the illegal drug trafficking business, specifically relating to access to the Port of Montreal, but also as the Hells Angels have sought to obtain control of the street level trade from other rival or independent gangs in various regions of Canada. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Gazette, quoting from the Provincial Court of Manitoba, defines these groups as: "Any group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have voluntarily made a commitment to band together and abide by their organizations' rigorous rules enforced by violence, who engage in activities that bring them and their club into serious conflict with society and the law".

The Hells Angels sponsors charitable events for Toys for Tots in an attempt to legitimize themselves with public opinion.

Contrary to other criminal organizations, OMGs operate on an individual basis instead of top-down, which is how supporters can claim that only some members are committing crimes. Belonging guarantees each member the option of running criminal activity, using other members as support—the main characteristic of OMGs is "amoral individualism", in contrast to the hierarchical orders and bonds of "amoral familism" of other criminal organizations such as the Mafia. U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent William Queen, who infiltrated the Mongols, wrote that what makes a group like them different from the Mafia is that crime and violence are not used as expedients in pursuit of profit, but that the priorities are reversed. Mayhem and lawlessness are inherent in living "The Life" and the money they obtain by illegal means is only wanted as a way to perpetuate that lifestyle.

Recently, authorities have tried tactics aimed at undermining the gang identity and breaking up the membership. But in June 2011 the High Court of Australia overturned a law that outlawed crime-focused motorcycle clubs and required members to avoid contact with one another. In the U.S., a Federal judge rejected a prosecutor's request to seize ownership of the Mongols Motorcycle Club

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