The Outlaws Motorcycle Club, incorporated as the American Outlaws Association or its acronym, A.O.A., is a "one-percenter" motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate that was formed in McCook, Illinois in 1935. It has approximately 200 chapters in the United States, Canada, Australia, Asia, and Europe. There is a one-percenter motorcycle club called the "Outlaws" in New Zealand however they are not part of the international club. It only shares the name and has a different patch design. Membership in the Outlaws is limited to men who own American-made motorcycles of a particular size, although in Europe motorcycles from any country are allowed so long as they are in the chopper style. Their main rivals are the Hells Angels, giving rise to an acronym used by Outlaws members, "ADIOS" (Angels Die In Outlaw States). On January 1, 2010, the Knox County Sheriff's Office in conjunction with the Knoxville Police Department raided a house located at 205 Clifton Road to serve two arrest warrants and execute a search warrant on the property alleged to be an Outlaw clubhouse. Officers, including members of the SWAT team, armed with "flashbang" grenades and assault rifles, raided the facility just before midnight but found only a handful of elderly club members, who surrendered quickly and peaceably. Knox County Sheriff James Jones acted on information from an undercover informant that many of the members of the club would be present at the informal celebration of New Year's Eve. Arrest warrants had been issued for Mark "Ivan" Lester and Kenneth Foster for their alleged roles in a confrontation with the undercover informant earlier in December 2009, who had infiltrated the organization over 14 months ago. According to Sheriff Jones, Lester and Foster allegedly threatened the informant with a pistol and demanded his colors. The informant, who claimed to be in fear of their safety, submitted to the men's demands. Mark Lester is alleged to be the Regional President in charge of the clubs operations in both the state of Kentucky and Tennessee. Kenneth Foster is alleged to be the local Knoxville chapter Outlaw Motorcycle Club President. Both, Lester and Foster, were arrested at the residence, have been charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping. Upon search of the residence the officers found a few legally registered handguns, small amounts of marijuana, and alleged they had evidence of other illegal activities. Both men were jailed and held in lieu of 3 million dollar bonds. Other than the charges stemming from the club's unmasking of the undercover officer, however, no other charges have been filed. Community reaction to the raid has been largely critical, with a majority of commenters on Knoxville news sites discussing the raid holding the opinion that the Sheriff's Office conducted the raid as a political move. [READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE]
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