looking for information and the website for the iron horsemen
motorcycle club...known to be a 1% club

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Request for Question Clarification by scriptor-ga on 01 Jan 2004 17:41 PST

Dear dragonsjoie,

I have found the websites of both the Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Club
and the Sons of Silence. However, both clubs appear to be almost as
mute as a maggot when it comes to sharing even the tiniest bit of
information on their history, structure, etc. How much information do
you need for a valid answer?

Regards,
Scriptor

Hi Dragonsjoie,

As you likely already know, a 1%er motorcycle club (MC) is usually 
considered, at least by the media and the public, to be an ?outlaw? 
gang.  The term ?1%er? was supposedly coined by a reporter following a 
rally in Hollister, CA in 1947 that by some accounts degenerated into 
a riot.  The reporter purportedly said something to the effect that 
while 99% of motorcycle riders were decent law-abiding folk, the 
lawless 1% made them all look bad.  But truth is, the reality of the 
origin of the term has been lost in myth.  If you?re interested in 
reading about Hollister from first-person recollection accounts, here?
s a good source: http://www.bikewriter.com/classic_bike.

Now then, what we do know is that the current meaning of ?1%? denotes 
a motorcycle club made up of members dedicated to several principles, 
among them personal freedom, the right of personal expression, 
individual rights, and loyalty to the group.  Members pride themselves 
on being a minority, on being among the few who prize individual 
freedom as an ultimate value, and exist by choice on the fringes of 
mainstream society.

Fringe or not, there are, ironically perhaps, many 1% motorcycle clubs,
 some international, some region or country-specific, some local or 
nearly so.  Membership in these clubs is by invitation only, to those 
who have become friendly with members, whose views are deemed in 
harmony with the views of the group, and who have been determined to 
be not only sympathetic, but trustworthy.

Once a person joins such a group, he (members are almost without 
exception male) is issued a patch, which signifies a lifetime 
commitment on both sides.  Once a person receives a patch from a 1%er 
club, he is a ?patch holder,? or a lifetime member.   However, patches 
can be - and sometimes are - revoked (for egregious and injurious 
disregard for the club?s principles and rules), in contrast to the 
patches worn by members of purely social, or commercially-sponsored 
clubs, or those that can be merely purchased and so mean nothing at 
all beyond the individual wearer?s opinion du jour.  The wives and 
girlfriends of patch holders are referred to as ?old ladies? and often 
wear a patch of their own identifying them as ?property? of the club 
or of an individual member.

Here is a link to a page with further links to many if not all of the 
known 1% clubs in the U.S. and worldwide:
 http://www.bikernews.net/1perlinks.cfm

Understand that NOT all members of 1%er clubs are criminals.  But 
enough of them are, or at least have been prosecuted and convicted as 
such, that 1% clubs have come to be thought of in the public mind, 
whether deserved or not, as criminal gangs, occupying themselves with 
activities such as drug and gun running, prostitution, violent 
reprisals and/or turf wars, and the like.  The part that many people 
don?t understand is the fierce dedication to individual rights 
combined with group loyalty.  What this means in practice is that a 
patch holder, even if not a criminal himself, will nevertheless defend 
the rights of his brother(s) to do as he wishes, even if that means 
engaging in criminal activity, and will defend that right by whatever 
means necessary.  On the other hand, many patch holders feel that they 
have been unfairly singled out by law enforcement as ?criminals? and 
falsely accused.

Whatever the truth actually is, this dedication to loyalty among patch 
holders also means that it is virtually impossible for an outsider to 
find information about a 1% club or one of its members.  Their 
websites are largely for making a statement, and for their own use and 
information, not for public education.  Frankly, they don?t WANT 
anyone outside knowing their business and if you ask, you will mostly 
likely receive some variation of the advice, ?If you need to ask, you 
don?t need to know.?

Among 1% clubs are a few, sometimes known as ?The Big Five,? that are 
well known to the public for many reasons, among them for being 
supposedly involved in criminal activity, or at least being suspected 
and investigated for such.  These five 

 	Hell?s Angels
	Pagans
	Outlaws
	Bandidos
	Iron Horsemen (the Sons of Silence are a subsidiary club of The Iron 
Horsemen)

Specifically, the website for The Iron Horsemen Nation is here:
http://www.ironhorsemen.net/

and the Sons of Silence, here: http://www.sonsofsilence.com/

Remember, however, these sites are mainly for members? convenience, 
and you are unlikely to find a great deal of information, though they 
can also be (and are) often used conveniently to raise money by 
selling products of various sorts, and sometimes provide such 
information as mailing addresses of incarcerated members to those who 
would like to show support.  Check the links on the S.O.S. site for ?
Locked Down.?

One other thing I should mention is that there is a club known as the
?Iron Horsemen of Denver MC,? which is an independent club and not 
affiliated with the Iron Horsemen Nation nor Sons of Silence, though 
they do identify themselves as a 1%er club.  If you?re interested, 
their webpage is here: http://www.ironhorsemenmcdenver.com/ihmc.htm  
Also, there is a music group known as ?Sons of Silence,? which also 
has no connection to the motorcycle club, so if you choose to utilize 
the search strategy detailed below, you can safely ignore those links.

Ok, as to other information about IH/SOS, there is a little, but due 
to the nature of 1% clubs, it is obviously sketchy.  Here?s what I was 
able to find for you:

First of all, you might like to check out the guest books on the Iron 
Horsemen Nation and Sons of Silence site ? they give some good 
insights:
http://pub28.bravenet.com/guestbook/show.php?usernum=2350526665&cpv=1
http://htmlgear.tripod.com/guest/control.guest?u=sonsofsilence&i=1001&a=view

Then, here?s a link to a page of 1%er news reports, which stays fairly 
up to date:
http://www.bikernews.net/1perarchives.cfm

===============================================================
News reports

Here are links to some specific news reports that include mention of 
either ?Iron Horsemen? or ?Sons of Silence? - in chronological order:

Dec. 16, 2003, from the Portland, ME ?Press Herald:?
http://www.pressherald.com/news/local/031216club.shtml
November 26, 2003 from the St. Paul, MN ?Star Tribune? ? an article 
about the arrest of a Hell?s Angel member.  Scroll about halfway down 
the page for mention of continued observation of other MCs, including 
Sons of Silence, which apparently has a Minnesota presence:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4234190.html

November 6, 2003, from the Baton Rouge, LA ?Advocate,? mention of a 
benefit poker run sponsored by the Sons of Silence (scroll down):
http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/110603/col_smiley001.shtml

Sept. 17, 2003, from the Washington Post  describes a supposed 
standoff between the Iron Horsemen and a fledgling Hell?s Angels 
chapter in Calvert County, Maryland: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/
wp-dyn/A22704-2003Sep17?language=

August 9, 2002 ? Scroll a little more than halfway down the page for 
this reprint of a news report from MSNBC on the 2002 annual rally in 
Sturgis, SD, where the local police chief, Jim Bush, had serious 
concerns about the ?resurgence of turf wars among outlaw bike gangs,? 
including the Sons of Silence:
http://www.ticklemetummy.com/august2002.html

Year 2000:
This is a report about an ATF agent who infiltrated a Colorado chapter 
of Sons of Silence to the previously unheard-of point of becoming a 
patch-holder:
http://www.napo.org/2000_top_cops_winners.htm  Scroll down the page a 
bit for the story.

===============================================================
Other sites:
===============================================================

This memorial site to lost members of the Iron Horsemen states, among 
other things, that the original club was founded in 1969, changing 
over to the current colors in the early 90?s:
http://www.angelfire.com/me2/gofish2/bngffe.html

Here?s the personal website of a Sons of Silence member who makes and 
sells his own music.  But note that while he proudly declares his club 
affiliation, he divulges no other information about the club.  Still, 
an interesting portrait of a member:
http://dagomusic.phrasewise.com/WhoisDago

This excerpt from a discussion forum (scroll down a little more than 
halfway down the page to read the message from ?Native?) says, ?...  
the Sons of Silence, they came through each summer and never caused 
problems. I am aware that Bikers can and for the most part are very 
well rounded and respected members of society:?
http://www.okoboji.com/guestbook/archive/view.asp?year=2000&month=03

Here?s an excerpt from a sort of journal detailing someone?s personal 
recollections of bikers and gangs, including Sons of Silence.  User 
your browser?s ?edit? ?find? with ?sons of silence? to find the exact 
reference (near the bottom of the page):
http://www.cvc3.org/modelcourses/mrogoff/102_WeekFour.html

********************************************************************************

I hope this information helps.  If you have any questions or something 
isn?t clear, please do use the ?Request Clarification? feature to ask 
before rating and closing your question so I can be sure you?re happy 
with the information provided.

Best wishes,
?Ol? Momma of the Dead Donkeys MC?
aka Byrd-ga  ;-)

P.S. You can get your own name here from the Outlaw Biker Name 
Generator if you?re not already christened:  http://www.ratbike.org/
motorcycho/outlawname.


Search strategy:

As a biker (no, not a 1%er, a social biker club member only, though I 
know - and like and respect - a number of 1%ers) I had a few links in 
my personal bookmarks as a result of previous curiosity about 1%er 
clubs. I also used the following terms for news reports and other 
info:

?who are? ?iron horsemen? OR ?sons of silence? ?denver
news ?motorcycle club? OR ?motorcycle gang?
?iron horsemen? OR ?sons of silence?

You Are WRONG with this comment:  "Iron Horsemen (the Sons of Silence
are a subsidiary club of The Iron Horsemen)"   Get your information
Straight before trying to act like you know something YOU DON'T!!!  
Niether clubs are subsidiary to the other!!!   Mike Sons Of Silence
Minnesota.

Hi Mike,

Obviously, as a SOS member, you know better than I the structure and
affiliation of your MC. As I mentioned in my answer, I'm well aware of
the limitations involved in 'outsiders' knowlege of the inner workings
of any 1%er club.

So of course, my apologies if I was incorrect.  Actually, though, I
didn't just pull that bit of info out of -- well, out of thin air! 
:-)  I did find it somewhere on a site, but though I just rechecked my
notes, I'm unable to locate the original quote. I think it may be due
to the fact that, unfortunately, many of the news reports I relied
upon for this answer have now gone into archive status and are no
longer freely available online.

Nevertheless, the error's my fault - I surely should have noted the
source in the answer, and I will definitely be more careful in future.
 For now, many thanks for your correction - I do hope dragonsjoie-ga
sees it!

Cheers,
Byrd-ga

I found that information to be a treat. My father is a member of one
of those two MC that you have spoken about. Being just his daughter, I
have never really know much about the MC. I have learned bits and
pieces but the "bikey" by-law was upheld very highly at home and I was
never to ask a question about it. Knowlege of a outsider is more, "we
tell you what we want you to know". That is all. I'm not a hater of
MC, yet I dont like them. I know most outlooks on MC are that are full
of drugs, in this case yes. I have lost my father to drugs. I know
that he is his own person, yet monkey see monkey do. My father isn't
dead, yet if he keeps living this "life style" he will. I have lost
the father I love to a evil drug. What I'm tring to say is that,
sometimes this life style isn't quite the life that they(MC) make it
seem.
 My father has left my Mother, and will not see me or his
grandchildern. He has left us high and dry without any warning. I'm
feeling very bitter about it. I still think that not all MC are evil
or that they all leave their wifes and family and start doing drugs.
Yet to anyone out there who wishes so muchly to become apart of this
1% group think again. Think about what really could happen on the
outside of the group. Family will also be there, no matter what. Blood
is Blood. Members/bros are just that. Just Members. Sometimes it's
just to late to really see what you may leave behind. I know it's a
different world once you walk into that club house. Even more when you
are Stg At Arms. But sometimes the grass isn't greener on the other
side.

A lost Daughter, who misses her Father.