Photo by: Alain Dister cir. 1968
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Government goes after Bandidos Motorcycle Club
Copenhagen, Denmark (April 10, 2024) Today, Denmark’s government said that it wants a court to formally dissolve the Danish chapter of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, because of violence. Under Denmark’s constitution, an organization that promotes or incites violence can be dissolved by court order, meaning that it would be illegal for the group to have clubhouses, hold meetings or wear their insignias.
“The freedom of association was not created to protect vicious criminals,” Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said at a news conference Wednesday, adding that the Bandidos had engaged in especially “brutal behavior.”
The Danish chapter of the Bandidos MC was created in 1993. Three years later, a feud between them and the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club broke out in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, ending with 11 dead and nearly 100 wounded. In recent years, members of the Bandidos MC in Denmark have been jailed for murder, attempted murder, assault and drug-related crimes. On Tuesday, two members of the Bandidos MC were sentenced to 13 years each for a murder south of Copenhagen. Three other people linked were sentenced up to two years for gross violence in connection with the assault.
Hummelgaard said the government would seek a dissolution order against the Bandidos MC and that other similar organized groups could also face dissolution. “I would like to have them all banned if it is legally possible,” he said. The head of the Danish police’s National Special Crime Unit, Lasse Boye, told broadcaster DR that the Bandidos were the largest and “most violent” group in Denmark, and that the group has been "expanding very significantly in recent years.”
The Danish chapter of the Bandidos MC was created in 1993. Three years later, a feud between them and the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club broke out in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, ending with 11 dead and nearly 100 wounded. In recent years, members of the Bandidos MC in Denmark have been jailed for murder, attempted murder, assault and drug-related crimes. On Tuesday, two members of the Bandidos MC were sentenced to 13 years each for a murder south of Copenhagen. Three other people linked were sentenced up to two years for gross violence in connection with the assault.
Hummelgaard said the government would seek a dissolution order against the Bandidos MC and that other similar organized groups could also face dissolution. “I would like to have them all banned if it is legally possible,” he said. The head of the Danish police’s National Special Crime Unit, Lasse Boye, told broadcaster DR that the Bandidos were the largest and “most violent” group in Denmark, and that the group has been "expanding very significantly in recent years.”
Friday, April 5, 2024
Mongols MC members sentenced to federal prison
Nashville, Tennessee, USA (April 5, 2024) - After years of investigations, the last associate of the Clarksville chapter of the Mongols Motorcycle Club was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday after the Mongols were federally prosecuted for RICO conspiracy, murder, kidnapping, large-scale drug trafficking, money laundering and other crimes. James Hines, 47, was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months, said Henry C. Leventis, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee in a U.S. Attorney's Office media release Wednesday. All 18 of the defendants’ crimes stemmed from their involvement with the Clarksville chapter, and Hines was the last remaining defendant to be sentenced.
Authorities said in early 2015, some of the defendants were looking to transition from another motorcycle club and established the Clarksville chapter because, at the time, the Mongols did not occupy any territory in Tennessee. To show loyalty to the Mongols, those defendants committed a drive-by shooting and burned down the Sin City Motorcycle Club’s clubhouses in Clarksville and Nashville, according to investigators.
On May 22, 2015, the Mongols reportedly kidnapped and murdered a young mother because they thought she had stolen narcotics, money, and guns, and had knowledge about the items being stolen. She also reportedly spoke negatively to other people about the Mongols. On the day she was murdered, the Clarksville chapter reportedly kidnapped her at gunpoint and drove her to an area behind a secluded cemetery where they shot her. Her body was recovered more than a year after she was murdered, according to the DOJ.
The Mongols also allegedly engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity from 2015-2018. During that span, officials said the Mongols engaged in various crimes. In an effort to establish themselves as the area’s dominant motorcycle club, members of the Clarksville chapter, with help from Mongols MC members in California, participated in large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering activities; the members from California reportedly supplied the Clarksville chapter with over 50 pounds of almost 100% pure methamphetamine worth about $1 million to distribute around Tennessee and Kentucky, according to court documents.
SOURCE: U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Tennessee
Authorities said in early 2015, some of the defendants were looking to transition from another motorcycle club and established the Clarksville chapter because, at the time, the Mongols did not occupy any territory in Tennessee. To show loyalty to the Mongols, those defendants committed a drive-by shooting and burned down the Sin City Motorcycle Club’s clubhouses in Clarksville and Nashville, according to investigators.
On May 22, 2015, the Mongols reportedly kidnapped and murdered a young mother because they thought she had stolen narcotics, money, and guns, and had knowledge about the items being stolen. She also reportedly spoke negatively to other people about the Mongols. On the day she was murdered, the Clarksville chapter reportedly kidnapped her at gunpoint and drove her to an area behind a secluded cemetery where they shot her. Her body was recovered more than a year after she was murdered, according to the DOJ.
The Mongols also allegedly engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity from 2015-2018. During that span, officials said the Mongols engaged in various crimes. In an effort to establish themselves as the area’s dominant motorcycle club, members of the Clarksville chapter, with help from Mongols MC members in California, participated in large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering activities; the members from California reportedly supplied the Clarksville chapter with over 50 pounds of almost 100% pure methamphetamine worth about $1 million to distribute around Tennessee and Kentucky, according to court documents.
SOURCE: U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Tennessee