Denmark wants court to dissolve Danish arm of Bandidos motorcycle club, citing violence

COPENHAGEN, Denmark —  Denmark’s government said Wednesday it wants a court to formally dissolve the Danish arm of the Bandidos motorcycle club, citing the group’s violent behavior.

Under Denmark’s constitution, an organization that promotes or incites violence can be dissolved by court order, meaning that it would be illegal for the group to have clubhouses, hold meetings or wear their insignias.

“The freedom of association was not created to protect vicious criminals,” Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said at a news conference Wednesday, adding that the Bandidos had engaged in especially “brutal behavior.”

The Danish chapter of Bandidos MC was created in 1993. Three years later, a feud between them and rivals Hells Angels broke out in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, ending with 11 dead and nearly 100 wounded.

In recent years, members of the Bandidos in Denmark have been jailed for murder, attempted murder, assault and drug-related crimes.

On Tuesday, two members of the Bandidos were sentenced to 13 years each for a murder south of Copenhagen. Three other people linked to the gang were sentenced up to two years for gross violence in connection with the assault.

Hummelgaard said the government would seek a dissolution order against the Bandidos and that other similar organized gangs could also face dissolution. “I would like to have them all banned if it is legally possible,” he said.

Authorities have given no estimate of the number of members of the Bandidos. Police say some 1,200 people in Denmark are members of criminal gangs, which also include groups besides the Bandidos, but does not include informal members.

The head of the Danish police’s National Special Crime Unit, Lasse Boye, told broadcaster DR that the Bandidos were the largest and “most violent” gang in Denmark, and that the group has been “expanding very significantly in recent years.”

“That is why we have chosen to come after the Bandidos,” he told DR.

The lawyer representing the Bandidos, Michael Juul Eriksen, told broadcaster TV 2 that he was not surprised by the move after the government said in June that authorities were looking into disbanding the group.

In September 2018, Danish police issued a temporary nationwide ban against the Loyal to Familia organized criminal group. In 2021, Denmark’s Supreme Court agreed with a lower court’s conclusion that the group was a threat to public order, and the group has since been dissolved.