http://www.news4jax.com/news/nippers-shooting-investigation/26850654
Because of one of his recent articles
Feds Talk About The Iron Order, where in the Aging Rebel claims that the Iron Order are now labelled an OMG by the ATF, I made a number of calls to the
ATF and finally got through to a representative at the Public Affairs Office to have the referenced report verified.
The gentleman I spoke to spent several days looking into this report and the veracity of the information on the Aging Rebel Blog with regards to this report.
Here is what this spokesperson told me:
The report that the Aging Rebel refers to and quotes from is a 40 page unclassified report.
The spokesperson is not sure how the Aging Rebel came to be in possession of an emailed report that is meant for law enforcement personnel only. It is not meant for public consumption.
The spokesperson also told me that the snippet that appeared on the Aging Rebel Blog was taken out of context in terms of the greater report and that the writer of the report made a small mistake in how the 2 groups were designated in his description of an altercation between an OMG and the OMC.
He also expressed that the ATF does not designate who is an OMG and who is not, they simply deal with the violence that erupts as a result of the presence of any gang be they motorcycle related or street.
He verified with other agencies that the Iron Order MC is NOT deemed to be an OMG.
If you want to verify what I am writing here, you can do exactly as I did, call the Office of Public Affairs for the ATF at (202) 648-8500.
How could their "shit' down there possibly have anything to do with us in Canada?
- Well, we have 5 chapters of the Iron Order MC in Canada, there are 8 or 9 chapters of the Outlaws MC in Canada.
- Top that off with the announcement that the Outlaws have set up shop in Saskatoon where there is a chapter of the Hell's Angels.
- Add in the tensions between the IO and the Black Pistons MC (a "puppet" or support club of the Outlaws MC AKA the AOA) after the shooting in Florida and the fact that there is an IO chapter in Edmonton.
There is a potential for rivalries and issues to flair.
We are after all discussing men and their territorial mind sets, these kinds of rivalries go all the way back in time to Cane and Abel....
I am not saying there will be trouble, but I am saying that we all need to be educated as to the politics and goings on in our community.
Why?
Well, these are after all Motorcycle Clubs and some of them may attend events that you attend.
If tensions get high, it could become unpleasant and potentially lethal, just look at what happened in
Hollister a few weekends ago.
The MC world affects those of us who do not ride in that world in that they are the ones who generally get the headlines, aide in the creation of the visions others have of the rest of us who ride alone or with the various MRC's etc., and when they come to events, sometimes they bring the Gang Squads with them. When that happens we are all subject to being photographed and having our plates photographed by law enforcement.
Knowledge is power.
It is far easier to stay out of any potentially bad situation when you know the players and the playing field. Being situationally and rivalry aware can help keep you out of harms way.
I am going to attempt to write a series of articles on the MC world and hopefully we will discuss the conflict between the Iron Order MC and the Black Pistons MC - the Outlaw MC (AOA)
I have interviewed a couple of members of the upper echelon of the Iron Order MC and have requested interviews with members of the upper echelons of the Florida chapters of the Outlaws MC.
I have not heard back yet from the Outlaws MC, but so far, 10 days later, no one has responded to me to discuss their position.
It is my hope that by creating some dialogue, that there can be an education of sorts in this community as to who is who and what is what.
If you want people to know about your club, who you are and what you represent - I want to hear from you:
bdbetty @ gmail.com (remove the spaces).
The series of articles that I want to put forth is not meant to "push" or "condone" any one point of view but to educate those who want to be, on what the points of view, philosophies and values are of these clubs from their perspective.
How they resonate with you is up to you. What you take away from the articles is up to you.
My goal is to truly be a messenger of many, and educator so to speak, so that you can come away with a balanced and impartial perspective on the various factions, and decide on who you want to associate with or not.
Look for the first article soon...
In other news, Sturgis North AKA Sturgis Canada has, before they even got my counter offer to settle, offered me a second resolution - they would like to buy $1,000 worth of advertising and give me 30 - 4 day passes to their event to sell. I have rejected that offer and my attorney has sent of my counter offer. We shall see if there is a resolution there soon or not, in the meantime, I still have a $3,000 lawyer's bill I have to pay so we are holding an auction of SOA art which started yesterday with "Bobby" and will continue for another 8 days until all 9 Pieces are gone!
The Defense Fund Auction for Sons of Anarchy art by
Mark Mullen is on over at:
www.beltdrivebetty.com/auction-home
Have a fantastic day everyone!
Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider