HENDERSON, N.C. -- The Hell's Angels motorcycle gang wrapped up its international rally Sunday with authorities reporting no incidents. But two reporters and a photographer said they were assaulted by gang members.
The Charlotte Observer reported Sunday that staff reporters Robin Clark and Tex O'Neill were punched and photographer Mark Sluder was forced at knifepoint to give up his film during an incident Saturday.
Vance County Sheriff's Deputy C.M. Foster said Sunday he had not heard about the incident and reported 'no problems whatsoever.'
'There's no need to watch over them,' he said. 'They've never given us any trouble in the past and we don't expect them to this time.'
Another deputy said later he expected many of the bikers to leave quietly Sunday, with a few lingering on until Monday.
For the past few years, gang members have rented a private campground on Kerr Lake near the North Carolina-Virginia border for what they bill as a 'New World Run.' Members from several states as well as from Switzerland and Germany attended the event.
Police would not estimate the crowd, but the Observer said it appeared about 200 people -- counting gang members' wives and children -- attended.
The Observer was watching the conclave from a recreational vehicle parked in a public campground on an inlet about 200 feet from where the Hell's Angels met.
The newspaper reported Clark and O'Neill were writing their story and Sluder was standing in the vehicle when two Hell's Angels wearing patches of the Winston-Salem chapter knocked on the door.
When O'Neill told them who they were and what they were doing, one of the Angels ordered him lut of the van and asked if pictures had been taken.
Clark said yes.
'One biker suddenly grabbed for O'Neill's face, then punched him in the forehead, knocking off his glasses,' the Observer said. 'The other biker punched Clark in the left eye, knocking him against the van's door.'
The man who reputedly hit Clark then entered the van, holding a knife. He ordered Sluder to turn over the film, which Sluder did.
The newspaper said the men involved apparently were part of an elite group called the 'Filthy Few.'
While the bikers appeared threatening to the reporters, local businessmen gave a different picture.
'They're just folks,' said John R. Jones, food and beverage director of the Holiday Inn in Henderson, where gang members avoiding weekend rains occupied at least 25 rooms.
'They are very well-behaved and very well-educated,' added Jones' wife, Ena.
They also tip well, one waitress noted, showing off a $5 tip that a pair of bikers left after their meal of eggs and coffee.
