(6-14-24) Fourteen members, all in custody, of the Thug Riders Motorcycle Club were indicted on multiple charges related to a racketeering scheme that took place in Ohio and Kentucky, including incidents in the Dayton area.

Recent incidents include killing a man in Harrison Twp. in September of 2021 and engaging in a shootout at a Springfield motorcycle gang’s clubhouse in March of 2024.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker, Southern District of Ohio that charges include racketeering, assault with a dangerous weapon, violent crimes in aid of racketeering and attempted assault with a dangerous weapon.

Members of the Club, including men from Dayton, Fairborn, Miamisburg, Piqua and Xenia, are accused of operating a criminal enterprise that includes murder, extortion, identity theft and more. Incidents in the area reportedly include blowing up a former member’s vehicle in Huber Heights, a homicide in Harrison Twp., assaults at Dayton bars and a shootout at another motorcycle group’s clubhouse in Springfield.

U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Special Agent John Nokes indicated that yesterday around 300 law enforcement officers from federal, state and local agencies executed multiple search warrants and arrests.

Investigators seized hundreds of items of evidence, including approximately 100 guns and 15,000 rounds of ammunition. Digital evidence was also retrieved, which could result in additional charges being filed against co-conspirators.

ATF agents, Ohio State Highway Patrol and Xenia police were at a house in the 1000 block of Colorado Drive. Huber Heights police confirmed a search warrant was served on state Route 202 near Needmore, but no arrests were reported.

People were arrested in three other states, including Kentucky, Arizona and Pennsylvania, as part of the investigation.

The Thug Riders Motorcycle Club was founded as an outlaw motorcycle gang in 2003 and has chapters in the U.S., Canada, Austraila, Morocco, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Germany and United Kingdom.

The club’s midwest region consists of chapters in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. Dayton’s chapter was reportedly established in 2019.