The Hells Angels, known for
their criminal activities, violent tactics, and abundant odors, are
perhaps the most notorious motorcycle gangs in the United States.
Hunter Thompson once described the group as “American as jazz.” And
that’s worth remembering; No matter what their reputation is, they
have the same rights as any other Americans. One member of the
group, Maurice Eunice, is fighting the federal government in court
for needlessly launching explosives through the front door of his
clubhouse.
From
Vice:
On August 2, 2011, Special Agent Patrick Ryan of the DEA
obtained a search warrant for the Hells Angels clubhouse in San
Diego county, California.
Instead of knocking, they opening the door by firing “breaching
charges and flashbangs” through it.
The raid in El Cajon was the result of a two-year investigation,
and agents were looking for specific Hells Angels members, but the
explosion revealed a building empty except for a terrified dog.
…As the Angel who owned the clubhouse, Eunice says the government
conducted an unreasonable seizure and, once inside, intentionally
caused him emotional distress by stomping on pictures of his dead
friends.“We found the pictures inside with footprints on the glass,”
says Julia Yoo, the civil rights attorney who wrote the complaint.
“And there’s a video of the incident that was filmed before any of
the other [members of the media] showed up. There was an agent
standing outside giving interviews. Somebody tipped them off.”
Eunice, who first filed his lawsuit back in 2012, believes the
feds wanted to create a media spectacle, and that if they wanted to
search his building, they could’ve asked him for a key instead of
bombing it and causing $130,000 worth of damage.
“A district judge granted a summary motion… that ruled in the
government’s favor” earlier this month, but Eunice plans to
appeal.
“The Hells Angels pose a criminal threat on six continents,”
according
to the Department of Justice. But, once again, that doesn’t mean
individual members don’t deserve their rights to be protected. The
scary thing is, they aren’t so different from the rest of us when
it comes to victimization by militarized police. In at least
one past case, a Hells Angel pulled a gun on a SWAT team
looking for drugs that busted into his house, because he thought
they were robbers. They killed him, and never found any drugs –
kind of like the case of
an 80-year-old who died in his bed due to a botched, fruitless
raid.
Or this guy who now faces the death penalty for shooting an
intruder who turned out to be a cop looking for drugs.
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