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First off, the meeting wasn't between biker clubs, it was a Coalition of Clubs and Independents meeting. The organization is an information clearinghouse for bikers of all affiliations, the meetings are to deal with political issues affecting all bikers, discuss pending legislation and other issues, and resolve run schedules so the scheduling does not conflict.

You have members of two clubs (out of many, along with independent bikers) present who might not be on the best of terms.

When they meet, there will be friction to some degree, but these meetings are not the venue to settle such things.

However, you pull up and there are police from a host of different agencies, deployed in an 'L' shape around the perimeter, with cameras on poles and guys with scoped rifles eyeballing all you do. They are in an ambush formation, and it would not take much for rumors to start about who was using the police against who. Any other bones of contention or bad blood just had another very large bone of suspicion thrown in.

This is a potential powder keg at that point, and all that need happen is for a confidential informant to instigate a ruckus and for someone to fire a shot, and the killing begins, justified by 'keeping people safe'.

Swanton, one of the key spokespeople and a player on the LEO side of this was commended with the rest of his unit for the assistance they gave the BATF and FBI in the aftermath of the Mt. Carmel (Branch Davidian) Massacre.

He is no stranger to the BATFE, who were represented at Twin Peaks, although the extent of their involvement is obscure.