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Posted on 01/16/2003 7:29:00 AM PST by Loyalist
Hells Angels 'offended' to be linked to terrorism Authorities seized 'colours' at airport, then dropped case
Adrian Humphreys National Post
Thursday, January 16, 2003
The secretive airport seizure from a member of the Hells Angels that led prosecutors to consider charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act was simply the biker's jacket with the gang's insignia stitched to the back, the National Post has learned.
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club conducted an "internal investigation" after reports that an item seized from a Quebec member at Montreal's Dorval airport raised the spectre of the world's most notorious motorcycle gang being linked to terrorist activities.
"I was deeply offended by that suggestion," said a member of the Hells Angels, who was authorized by the organization to present its side of the incident to the Post.
"I am vehemently opposed to this terrorism stuff, as are all Hells Angels, and to be accused of it is very offensive to us," the member said on condition his name not be published.
He said someone in the Department of Justice appears to have been looking for a new way to attack the gang.
The public suggestion of a terrorist angle to the seizure of an item, which was not named by authorities, led to speculation that weapons, explosives or travel documents might be involved.
The Hells Angel spokesman said members wanted to know if anyone linked to the organization was engaged in terrorist activities and discovered the item seized on Dec. 2, 2002, was, in fact, the gang's insignia, called "colours."
Officials remain tight-lipped about their investigation, but sources close to the case confirmed the seizure was the jacket and other items of clothing that featured the Hells Angels logo.
RCMP Corporal Sylvain Jolicour, a spokesman for the Dorval Airport Federal Investigations Section, confirmed the investigation has concluded without charges.
The seizure came after several members of the Hells Angels returned to Canada on Dec. 2, 2002, from a meeting in Europe. Some Ontario members flew into Toronto's Pearson International Airport and three members from Quebec flew into Dorval, according to sources.
All members carried their colours in their luggage.
Two of the three members at Dorval passed through Canada Customs without incident. The third, Ghyslain Vallerand, of the Hells Angels' Sherbrooke Chapter, carried with him $2,600 in cash and was questioned. The cash was not seized, but his jacket and several T-shirts, all bearing the logo of the Hells Angels, were withheld.
"They were trying to make it a test case or a test seizure, to see if it was possible to seize clothing with the trademark of the Hells Angels on it," said Michel Dussault, the lawyer for Mr. Vallerand.
"They said the clothes were coming from crime, but they didn't have evidence the clothing was part of any infraction. There was no link in any way [to terrorism]," he said.
Mr. Vallerand is considering a lawsuit against the government over the incident, Mr. Dussault said.
The idea of applying the wide-ranging powers of the Anti-Terrorism Act, passed in response to the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, to criminal organizations appealed to many police officers.
It prompted talk of having the Hells Angels placed on the list of Terrorist Entities, which would make prosecuting and seizing the assets of members much easier.
Anti-gang legislation requires prosecutors to prove every time a charge is laid that an organization is a criminal group.
ahumphreys@nationalpost.com
© Copyright 2003 National Post
Very good question
I am sorry, but this was to be expected. The anti-terrorism excuse to violate people's rights will not stop here. Once you get law enforcement in the habit of ignoring due process, they will decide they like it and do it more and more. Sure, it is easier than actually having to make cases against individuals with actual evidence, but do we want that? We already have a huge error rate in criminal justice, even when we do have trials. What do you think the error rate will be if no trials (or trials without evidence) are needed?
We'll never get the CREDIT, but we'll always get the BLAME."
- Sonny Barger
You said it!
Well, there's Sen. Patty Murray ... for one.
I bet it did. How long will it be before they use those wide-ranging powers to go looking for "illegal" guns? With their "tip list" in hand the Maryland police, in concert with the BATF, would probably like to expand their abilities as well.
I doubt it. I have personally seen bikers singled out and searched at Canadian airports, even by uniformed police officers nowhere near security, simply because they were bikers. They were sitting in the bar beside the terminal minding their own business when they were taken away to be checked for outstanding warrants, and this was in a domestic terminal. They were wearing insignia at the time.
LEOs in Canada have declared war on biker gangs. Smart bikers will ship their colours to their destination and not take them along on the flight if they want to avoid hassles. Because of their criminal activities they are covered by the wording of the legislation as terrorist organizations.
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