When Bill Singleton decided to embark on an Alaskan adventure to raise money for a charity close to his heart, he thought the most difficult part of his trip would be the 6,000-mile motorbike ride. However, he did not plan on being mistaken for a Hells Angel by American immigration chiefs, who then detained him and sent him home on the next available flight – even sitting him on a row on his own where they monitored his every move. The window cleaner of Waldegrave Park, Harpenden, UK, had raised more than £3,000 in sponsorship money and has since offered to return the cash. He planned to travel across North America from Montana to Alaska on his Harley Davidson Road King motorbike for The National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) a charity he supports because his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter are all deaf.
But immigration officials at Denver Airport thought Bill was bound for the notoriously troublesome national Hells Angels rally in Montana, and denied him entry. So after a nine-hour plane journey, the motorbike enthusiast was forced to board a return flight home just hours after arriving at his destination. “I am absolutely devastated,” he said. “At long last I decided to do a charity ride for the NDCS but the US immigration refused to believe that I wasn’t a Hells Angel. “I nearly broke down when they told me I was going home on the next flight home.” He added: “They said I wasn’t arrested but I was frogmarched back to the plane under escort.
“They made me sit in a row on my own so they could keep an eye on me as if I was a terrorist.”
Bill claims customs became suspicious of him after they seached his bags and recovered a wallet displaying a wolf’s head – a logo staff there associated with the Hells Angels. Bill was also accused of fighting during the annual Sturgis Bike Week in South Dakota last year – an allegation he strongly denies. The biker insists he attended the famous motorcycle rally with his wife and planned to make a return trip following his Alaskan tour. But after customs officers inspected Bill’s criminal record and found a conviction dating back to the early 1970’s, they told him he needed a visa to gain admission to the country adding that the Green Card he had been using for years to travel to America was no longer sufficient. He said: “I still feel so saddened about it, I feel I have been in a nightmare for a month. I want to get a solicitor to do more about it because unless something is done I am not going back.” Helen Lerwill from NDCS, which provides support to deaf children, young people and their families, said: “Our work is funded almost entirely through public donations, so none of our work would be possible without the commitment of individuals like Bill. “We wish Bill the best of luck with arranging his Alaskan Adventure for next year.”
But immigration officials at Denver Airport thought Bill was bound for the notoriously troublesome national Hells Angels rally in Montana, and denied him entry. So after a nine-hour plane journey, the motorbike enthusiast was forced to board a return flight home just hours after arriving at his destination. “I am absolutely devastated,” he said. “At long last I decided to do a charity ride for the NDCS but the US immigration refused to believe that I wasn’t a Hells Angel. “I nearly broke down when they told me I was going home on the next flight home.” He added: “They said I wasn’t arrested but I was frogmarched back to the plane under escort.
“They made me sit in a row on my own so they could keep an eye on me as if I was a terrorist.”
Bill claims customs became suspicious of him after they seached his bags and recovered a wallet displaying a wolf’s head – a logo staff there associated with the Hells Angels. Bill was also accused of fighting during the annual Sturgis Bike Week in South Dakota last year – an allegation he strongly denies. The biker insists he attended the famous motorcycle rally with his wife and planned to make a return trip following his Alaskan tour. But after customs officers inspected Bill’s criminal record and found a conviction dating back to the early 1970’s, they told him he needed a visa to gain admission to the country adding that the Green Card he had been using for years to travel to America was no longer sufficient. He said: “I still feel so saddened about it, I feel I have been in a nightmare for a month. I want to get a solicitor to do more about it because unless something is done I am not going back.” Helen Lerwill from NDCS, which provides support to deaf children, young people and their families, said: “Our work is funded almost entirely through public donations, so none of our work would be possible without the commitment of individuals like Bill. “We wish Bill the best of luck with arranging his Alaskan Adventure for next year.”
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