The Washington Post and MSNBC are reporting that all registered motorcycle owners in the United States are on a FBI “Gang List”:
FBI Admits All Registered Motorcycle Owners Are On Classified Gang List
MSNBC correspondent Jeremy Lancaster sat down with government official Darrin Cornia to discuss recent rumors that have been in circulation in regard to registered motorcycle owners being placed on a classified FBI gang list.
Darrin Cornia who currently holds a position within the National Security Branch of the government agreed to complete transparency prior to the interview with MSNBC’s Jeremy Lancaster and did remain direct and seemingly forthright throughout his conversation with Lancaster.
After a few moments of introduction, Lancaster bluntly asked the following question,” Mr. Cornia, if I were to make the statement, all registered motorcycle owners are currently showing on a classified FBI gang list, would the statement be true or false?
Cornia responded by saying, “That would be a true statement, the FBI has been collecting and compiling Department of Motor Vehicles and Drivers License Division records for the purpose of adding those that own motorcycles to a classified gang list since 1994.
Lancaster asked Cornia to explain the reasoning behind the list which seems inappropriately broad, to Cornia answered the question with the following statement, “It’s nothing more than collecting and utilizing data. We may not like to admit it, but the truth of the matter is that those that own and operate motorcycles are 67% more likely to be involved in illegal or criminal activity than those that do not own or operate a motorcycle.”
The National Security Official went on to explain, “It’s the same as firearms, if local P.D or Highway Patrol were to pull someone over that is a registered firearm owner, that officer has the right to know this information going into the interaction, the same could be said about a local P.D or Highway Patrol Officer that pulled over a registered motorcycle owner, the situations are honestly interchangeable in the eyes of National and Homeland Security.
MSNBC correspondent Jeremy Lancaster asked Cornia if placing citizens on a gang list just because they are registered motorcycle owners is considered as profiling, Cornia responded to the question by saying, “as a nation do we complain when we add someone that has a Crips or Bloods tattoo to a gang list even though the individual swears up and down that they don’t have gang affiliation? Again these are 2 situations that are interchangeable, we can’t pick and choose.”
Lancaster asked how individuals can find out if they are on this classified gang list to which Cornia responded, “Did you register a motorcycle or obtain a Class M license anytime between the year 1994 and 2015? If so, than you are on the list.”
The MSNBC correspondent concluded the interview by asking Cornia, “aside from potential profiling from law enforcement, are there potentially any additional consequences of being on this gang list?” Cornia responded by saying, “the purpose of the list is to collect and utilize data, not to create consequences. Aside from notifying law enforcement that you are a registered motorcycle owner or operator, it can show up to potential employers on select background checks.”
————————————-
Well that’s just great. No criminal activity and you’re on the list. Not only for the FBI, but for potential employers. This is more proof that there is a huge dragnet being cast by the U.S. Intelligence Agencies that can be used to select and harass anyone they choose, or worse yet – set people up on false charges or entrapment.
From the FBI website here’s two of their attempts to “dispel myths” about spying on the American people:
http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2008/july/myths_072408
FBI 100
The Top Ten Myths in FBI History
(excerpts)
Myth #2) The FBI has files on every American.
Some people think that the FBI has a vast range of files on all the bad things they’ve ever done. Not true! We keep investigative files on serious violations of federal law and major threats to our national security. We won’t have a “file” on you unless you’re a spy or terrorist or criminal or are suspected of being one (and we use the word “file” loosely, as we generally organize materials by cases, not individuals). Some people do appear in our files if they’ve provided us with information or were a victim in a case…or because an authorized third party requested information about them—but this kind of information is held under strict laws and for a legally specified period of time. For more details, see our Freedom of Information Act file fact sheet.
Myth #4) The Bureau routinely spies on the American people.
Absolutely not. We are governed by and carefully follow a well-defined set of laws, regulations, and guidelines—honed over a century of practical experience—that spell out how we can and should conduct our investigations. It’s always been a delicate balance between harnessing the tools at our disposal to solve crimes and prevent attacks and upholding the civil liberties of all Americans. Over the course of a century, we’ve made some mistakes, but they’ve been few and far between compared to the vast amount of work we do every day. While some have long predicted that the FBI would turn into a big-brother-like secret police force, that scenario simply hasn’t happened. After all, we live and work in our communities and cherish our country’s rights and freedoms like everyone else!
—————————–
Ok, there ya go. Who you gonna believe – The FBI or their own agent who was interviewed by MSNBC? So what have these Feds been really up to? Take a look at this from Rolling Stone:
How FBI Entrapment Is Inventing ‘Terrorists’ – and Letting Bad Guys Off the Hook
The feds have seized an Orwellian power – the power to decide which ideas are dangerous, regardless of the genuine threat they pose.
By Rick Perlstein May 15, 2012
(excerpts)
“In all these law enforcement schemes the alleged terrorists masterminds end up seeming, when the full story comes out, unable to terrorize their way out of a paper bag without law enforcement tutelage. (“They teach you how to make all this stuff out of simple household items,” one of the kids says on a recording quoted in the FBI affidavit about a book he has just discovered, The Anarchist Cookbook. Someone asks him how much it says explosives cost. “I’m not sure,” he responds, “I just downloaded it last night.”) It’s a perfect example of how post-9/11 fear made law enforcement tactics seem acceptable that were previously beyond the pale. Previously, however, the targets have been Muslims; now they’re white kids from Ohio. And maybe you could argue that this is acceptable, if the feds were actually acting out of a good-faith assessment of what threats are imminent and which are not. But that’s not what they’re doing at all. Instead, they are arrogating to themselves a downright Orwellian power – the power to deploy the might of the State to shape a fundamental narrative about which ideas Americans must be most scared of, and which ones they should not fear much at all, independent of the relative objective dangerousness of the people who hold those ideas.”
———————————–
Much more at the embedded links above
You know, y’all, that it’s not bad enough that we have the steady erosion of rights and privacy…and everybody having to think about what the hell is protected anymore in the America we as children were told about and to believe, as to a freedom that is so special and that it is or should be the envy of the world,
but,
I gotta say a few words about motorcycle riders, and yeah, that includes the clubs that often get a bad rap, as if they are only tough, bad guys:
these guys are among the first ones to stop and help someone stuck on the road, as with a broken down car.
I know, it happened to me in Utah years ago and they gave me a lift to a gas station, and I saw a group of club guys on their Harley’s
stop on a road in California to offer help to a car that had a family standing by it.
I thought we were supposed to be freer and more secure in our ‘privacy’ and so on, what the heck man…