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Friday, March 11, 2011

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- 'Outlaws' Say They Were Forced Out Of Daytona Beach

OFF THE WIRE
wftv.com
Controversial Bike Club Says Cops Forcing Them Out..


For the first time in years, a controversial motorcycle club isn't participating in Bike Week. Police forced the Outlaws out of a building they had rented for the week; it's the fourth time police have pressured the club to move.
 
Club members told WFTV it borders on harassment.
The Outlaws, as a rule, don't grant interviews. They did Tuesday, though, because after being pushed out of neighborhoods they tried to rent a storage building, with a fence around it and no neighbors, and police found a way to move them out, again.
"It's blatant harassment on the American Outlaw Association. That's all it is man," Outlaw member Hillbilly told WFTV.
Hillbilly, who would only give that as his name, said Daytona Beach police have put undeserved pressure on the club, pushing them out of the building they leased for Bike Week, and forcing them to find a house out of the city where members could meet.
"There's plenty of other motorcycle clubs in this city right now, whether they're One Percenter clubs, or Jesus freaks, and they're not being bothered, but we are," Hillbilly said.
The Outlaws have had trouble finding a home in Daytona Beach since federal agents raided their clubhouse four years ago. Then, police looked for code violations at their new home on South Street and parked a mobile command center at the house on Tanglewood last year.
"If we can keep a step ahead of something happening, we're going to do it. We're not going to stop, sit by and just wait for something to happen," said Dep. Chief Steve Beres, Daytona Beach Police Department.
Police have focused on dropping crime during Bike Week, cutting arrests from more than 500 in 2005, to 419 last year. Outlaws members have been accused of drug and weapons crimes, even murder and a firebombing in Florida in the 90s.
The group acknowledged their past drew police attention everywhere, but said if they're not causing trouble now and they deserve to be treated like the rest of the crowd.
"You are different than the rest of that crowd," WFTV reporter Jason Allen told Hillbilly.
"Yeah, but I still, I live in the United States of America, not the USSR," Hillbilly said.
The Outlaws are still fighting some code fines from old houses in Daytona Beach. Police said the latest location was a problem simply because it isn't zoned as a place to sleep or hold parties.