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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.”