Islamophobic US biker gang running security at Gaza aid sites

A media investigation has revealed that a firm responsible for guarding aid distribution sites in the devastated Gaza Strip has been using members of an anti-Muslim US biker gang to run its armed security.

The investigation, carried out by the BBC, found that 10 people who are part of the Infidels Motorcycle Club working for the controversial UG Solutions (UGS), which is a private contractor that provides security at aid sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

The findings have been particularly alarming as over 1,000 desperate Palestinian aid-seekers have been killed by Israeli troops or private contractors at the GHF sites since they started operations in May.

The contractors have been found to directly shoot at aid-seekers, including women and children, to disperse crowds. In some cases, Palestinian men have been directly targeted in their genitals and legs.

The investigation found that at least seven members of the gangs hold senior positions in the US and Israel-backed aid distribution operation.

However, UGS appeared to double down on its employment of known Islamophobes, stating they do not check their employees for "personal hobbies or affiliations unrelated to job performance".

The biker gang, Infidels MC, was established by US military veterans after they returned from serving in the Iraq war in 2006. The group uses the Crusader cross as its logo and think of themselves as successors to medieval Christians who fought Muslims for control of Jerusalem.

Drawing inspiration from the Crusaders, the biker gang regularly posts hateful remarks targeting Muslims on their Facebook page.

In one example, the members held a pig roast, which they said was “in defiance of” the month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast every day from sunrise to sunset. Muslims are also forbidden from consuming pork or products made from pig meat.

The probe further found that the gang’s leader, who runs UGS in Gaza, Johnny Mulford, worked as a sergeant in the US Army, and was also under fire for bribery, theft, and making false statements to military authorities.

According to the BBC, they emailed the biker gang for comment, and in response, Mulford ordered members of the gang to not respond or issue any statements. However, he mistakenly clicked "reply all," and accidentally revealed the names of the individuals working at the sites in Gaza.

Some of these individuals, cross-checked against public information, have been identified to be Larry "j-Rod" Jarrett who is in charge of logistics, Bill "Saint" Siebe who manages the security at the sites, and Richard "A-tracker" Lofton, a team leader and one of the gang’s founding members.

A further three members of the gang have been identified as leaders or deputies of the firm’s armed security teams.

UGS has been paying each contractor £720 a day, increasing to £1,160 a day for team leaders.

UGS has denied allegations that its security contractors opened fire at aid-seekers in Gaza but admitted that the company did fire warning shots to disperse crowds.

Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) told the BBC that the beliefs and actions of the biker gang were “bound to lead to violence”.

"Putting the Infidels biker club in charge of delivering humanitarian aid in Gaza is like putting the KKK in charge of delivering humanitarian aid in Sudan," he said, adding "it makes no sense whatsoever".