There's a strange link between violent motorcycle gangs and the US military
Neil Hall/ReutersMembers of the Hell's Angels motorcycle club arrive for the funeral of Ronnie Biggs in north London January 3, 2014.Some US military personnel and government employees are closely linked to notoriously violent biker gangs, according to a leaked DOJ report obtained by the Intercept.
The relationship between the biker gangs and law enforcement officials was examined more closely following the revelation that police officers responding to a gang shootout that killed 9 outside a Waco, Texas restaurant.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) discovered in 2007 that support clubs of "outlaw motorcycle gangs" (OMGs) such as Hell's Angels, Vagols and Mongel were "utilizing active-duty military personnel and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) contractors and employees to spread their tentacles across the United States."
Moreover, the ATF reported that OMG support clubs recruit courted "active-duty military personnel and government workers, both civilians and contractors, for their knowledge, reliable income, tactical skills and dedication to a cause."
The reports notes that "as the data is analyzed, it has been revealed that numerous OMG members, prospects, and associates are also employed with state and local government agencies."
It is worth noting that a biker gang is only considered an "outlaw" group by the ATF if its members engage in a "pattern of criminal activity."
In an interview with the Intercept, a former member of the Bandidos denied that any of the most violent clubs generally integrated current-duty military or law enforcement officials.
Many notoriously violent OMGs have made it abundantly clear, however, that they have members currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2010, the OMG Mongols sold t-shirts depicting various Mongols members fighting overseas, while the Hells Angels and the Highwaymen MC created a set of colors meant to show their support for members at war, according to the ATF report.
The report also notes specific individuals actively serving in the military who have documented ties to OMGs. One example is a staff sergeant instructor in the United States Air Force who is also the president of a support club for the Bandidos, the most dominant and violent of the motorcycle gangs in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, according to the ATF.
Perhaps most unnerving is the fact that numerous OMG members hold sensitive military and government clearance. The ATF report notes that Anthony Kozina and Colin Marks, two members of the Kings of Mayhem - a main support club for the Maryland Hells Angels - are employed as government contractors for the FBI.
Five of the seven members of another Hells Angels support club, Midgard Serpents, are employed at a local nuclear power plant as radiological technicians, according to the report. Other OMG members holding top secret security clearance include Wheels of Souls member Roderick Johnson, a major in the US Air Force reserves, and Jermaine Williams, a senior chief petty officer in the US Navy.
"This was supposed to be solely a law enforcement tool to help fight violent crime. It was not supposed to be out there in the ether for general consumption," an ATF spokesperson told The Intercept.
The shootout occurred between the Bandidos and a rival club who are backed by Bandidos' arch rivals, the Hell's Angels - dominant OMGs that the ATF predicts will only continue to expand in the coming months and years.