Prosecutors seek forfeiture of motorcycle gang's logo in racketeering case
The federal government has accused a motorcycle gang of a racketeering conspiracy and is seeking forfeiture of its trademarked logo.
The government is attempting to seize the logo of the Mongols Motorcycle Club, which “depicts a muscled, ponytailed warrior with a Fu Manchu mustache speeding on a chopper,” the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports.
In 2011, a federal judge blocked the government’s bid to seize the logo in a 2008 case because the prosecution was against individuals rather than the gang itself. Federal prosecutors responded in 2013 with an indictment accusing the entire gang of a racketeering conspiracy.
The new trial was scheduled to begin in early June in Los Angeles but was delayed after the case was assigned to a new judge. Prosecutors were expected to argue that simply displaying the logo amounts to a threat, and the symbol has been used to convey authority for murder and other crimes against those posing a threat to the gang.
Lawyers for the group counter that seizing the logo would violate the First Amendment associational rights of its members.
The international president of the Mongols, David “Lil Dave” Santillan, told the Wall Street Journal that the group should not be punished for the bad actions of a few. “We are a motorcycle club,” he said. “We just want to ride and be free.”
