Bikers Rights Issues
National Gang Threat assessment
 published by the U.S. Treasury Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

Page Sec. 2:8
Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs
OMG-related criminal activity poses a threat
to public safety in local communities in which
these gangs operate because of their wide-ranging
criminal activity, propensity to use violence, and
ability to counter law enforcement efforts. OMGs
are highly structured criminal organizations whose
members engage in criminal activities such as violent
crime, weapons trafficking, and drug trafficking.
OMGs maintain a strong centralized leadership
that implements rules regulating membership,
conduct, and criminal activity. As of June 2008
state and local law enforcement agencies estimate
that between 280 and 520 OMGs are operating
at the national, regional, and local levels. OMGs
range in size from a single chapter to hundreds
of chapters worldwide. Current law enforcement
intelligence estimates indicate that more than
20,000 validated OMG members, divided among
hundreds of OMGs, reside in the United States.
. National-level OMG criminal activity poses
a serious national domestic threat. Nationallevel
OMGs are a considerable concern to law
enforcement because they are highly structured
organizations with memberships ranging into
the thousands, maintaining strong associations
with transnational DTOs and other criminal organizations.
In addition, national-level OMGs
maintain criminal networks of regional and
local motorcycle clubs, commonly referred to
as "support," "puppet," or "duck" clubs, whose
members conduct criminal activities in support
of the larger OMGs, and who are a source for
new members.4 Some members of support clubs
have acquired employment with private businesses
or government agencies, which enables
them to provide national-level OMGs with
business, government, and financial information
that can be used to protect their criminal enterprises,
according to open source and published
law enforcement information.

. Regional-level OMGs are highly structured
organizations that range in size from 50 to
several hundred members. In the United
States 109 regional-level OMGs have been
identified by gang investigators; most support
one of the national-level OMGs. Several
regional-level OMGs maintain independent
associations with transnational DTOs and
other criminal organizations.

. Local-level OMGs typically operate in a single
state or in a few neighboring states and have
fewer than 50 members. They are often support
clubs for regional- and national-level
OMGs. Local-level OMGs usually have no ties
to DTOs or to other criminal organizations.