The Upper-Midwest is home to several mysterious ‘Shadow Organizations’, including the Sons of Silence Motorcycle Club and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. These groups operate outside the boundary of ‘normal’ everyday life, with some being relatively harmless and others being more questionable.
Sons of Silence Motorcycle Club
Founded in Niwot, Colorado, in 1966, the Sons of Silence is classified by the U.S. Department of Justice as one of the country’s major ‘one-percenter’ outlaw motorcycle gangs. The group has a strong presence in Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota, with a notoriously low public profile.
The Sons of Silence operate under the motto ‘Vis Amoris’ (The Force of Love) and are recognizable by their eagle logo. Members live by a strict internal code that prohibits talking to outsiders, journalists, or law enforcement about internal club business.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a fraternal organization that was founded in England in the late 1700s. The group operates in every state, including Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota, and focuses heavily on philanthropy, including community service, disaster relief, and youth/senior programs.
The IOOF is shrouded in secrecy, with a mysterious initiation process and the use of bizarre passwords. Despite this, the group has a long history of charitable work and has included famous individuals such as P.T. Barnum and Winston Churchill as members.
Other ‘Shadow Societies’ in the region include the Republic for the United Republic of America (RURA), which operates in rural pockets of Iowa and Minnesota. This group believes that the official U.S. government was secretly replaced by a corrupt corporation over a century ago and establishes its own ‘sovereign courts’ and issues unofficial passports and license plates.
Original reporting: News Talk 1340 KROC-AM – News and Talk – Rochester News Radio — read the source article.
