Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club is an American

motorcycle club A motorcycle club is a group of individuals whose primary interest and activities involve motorcycles. A motorcycle group can range as clubbed groups of different bikes or bikers who own same model of vehicle like the Harley Owners Group. Ther ...

founded in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

in 1965. The club is primarily active in the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

and only accepts

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...

riders.

History

The Grim Reapers MC was founded as a three-piece patch in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1965. In the United States, such motorcycle clubs are considered "outlaw" as they are not sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and do not observe the AMA's rules. Instead the Grim Reapers have their own set of bylaws based on the values of outlaw biker culture. In 1970, the club provided security for the Kickapoo Creek Rock Festival, held on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

weekend in 1970 near

Heyworth, Illinois Heyworth is a village in McLean County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1859. As of 2010, Heyworth had a population of 2,842. It is part of the Bloomington– Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Heyworth was laid out b ...

.Luciano: A Woodstock or laughingstock? - News - Journal Star - Peoria, IL
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Operation Iron Horse

In 1999, charges were brought against 18 members of the club, including the national president, as part of the four-year "Operation Iron Horse", a state and federal investigation under the

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

(RICO Act) into motorcycle clubs in the Mid-West of the United States. The 18 defendants were indicted for selling drugs and dealing stolen motorcycles. The Grim Reapers had purchased 120 kilograms of cocaine worth a total of around $3 million from 1988 to 1998.

Extent

Before Operation Iron Horse, there were club chapters in states from North Dakota to Florida, but according to the club's website, there are currently chapters in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. In Iowa, the Grim Reapers were the first motorcycle club established in that state.

Symbols and decorations

The Grim Reapers MC takes its name and iconography from the symbolic personification of

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

, the

Grim Reaper Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...

. The club's name is emblazoned on the top rocker of the three-piece patch. The center patch features the Grim Reaper in red holding a scythe, and is referred to as "the Ghost." The territory where the chapter operates appears on the bottom rocker. An "MC" patch appears to the right of the Ghost, when facing the cut. The cut also features a triangular front patch depicting a scythe over the club's initials, with one letter of the MC's motto, "FTW", in each corner of the triangle.

Other clubs

The 'Grim Reapers' name is also used by other clubs, in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the United Kingdom, and was formerly used by motorcycle clubs in New Zealand, Australia and California.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grim Reapers Mc Outlaw motorcycle clubs Gangs in the United States Organizations based in Louisville, Kentucky 1965 establishments in Kentucky Motorcycle clubs in the United States Crime in Louisville, Kentucky