Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club (USA)
 | |
| Motto | FTW |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1965 |
| Location | Louisville, Kentucky |
| Type | Outlaw motorcycle club |
| Marque | Harley Davidson Motorcycles |
| Website |
www |
| Abbreviation | GRMC |
Grim Reapers MC is an independent US-based motorcycle club founded during 1965 in Louisville, Kentucky[1]
The club
Is a Harley Davidson only motorcycle club. the club was founded as a three piece patch in Louisville KY. In the United States, such motorcycle clubs are considered "outlaw" as they are not sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and do not adhere to the AMA's rules. Instead the Grim Reapers have their own set of bylaws from which the values of the outlaw biker culture[2]
Club name and patches
The three piece patch with the top rocker with the clubs name its name and iconography from the traditional and symbolic personification of death, the Grim Reaper they refer to their center patch as the Ghost. The bottom rocker is club territory and they have a front patch that is a triangle with the motto FTW.[3]
Chapters
At one point the Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club had chapters from North Dakota to Florida but have been knocked down to size after Operation Iron Horse. In Iowa, the Grim Reapers were the first Motorcycle Club established in that state. Since then, many different clubs now have chapters in Iowa.
Operation Iron Horse
Operation Iron Horse was a four year state and federal RICO act investigation and prosecution of motorcycle clubs in the Midwest. Eighteen Grim Reapers, including the gang's national president, were indicted for selling drugs and dealing in stolen motorcycles. The Grim Reapers had purchased 120 kilograms - more than 200 pounds - of cocaine worth about $3 million total from 1988 to 1998.[4][5][6][7]
The Kickapoo Creek Rock Festival
The Kickapoo Creek Rock Festival was held on Memorial Day Weekend in 1970 near Heyworth, Illinois. The Grim Reapers provided the festival security. Approximately 60,000 people attended the festival.[8]
Other clubs
The Grim Reapers name is also used by other clubs, e.g. Canada and the United Kingdom, and was formerly used by motorcycle clubs in New Zealand, Australia and California. [9][10]
See also
References
- ↑ Understanding Organized Crime, by Stephen L. Mallory, Jones & Bartlett, 2007, p. 161
- ↑ International Journal of Motorcycle Studies
- ↑ Grim Reapers Mc
- ↑ Mr Magoo????
- ↑ http://www.bnarch.obworld.com/getoutlawnews.cfm?article=1099
- ↑ Bad, Bad Lori Arnold | MetaFilter
- ↑ 'Queen of Meth' (and Tom Arnold's sister) to have film made about the highs and lows of her drug-addled life | Mail Online
- ↑ Luciano: A Woodstock or laughingstock? - News - Journal Star - Peoria, IL
- ↑ Girls in the Gang. Dennehy, Glennis & Newbold, Greg. Reed Publishing (NZ), Aug 2001
- ↑ Biker's term is extended 5 years for San Rafael killings
External links
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