 U.S. attorneys arguing for Sommer's extradition claimed there was no political motive for the robbery.Rather, the money stolen in the robbery was intended to create a motorcycle gang that would rival the motorcycle gangs controlling crime in the American Pacific Northwest and Canadian British Columbia, primarily the Hells Angels.Sommer contended however that the US had an ulterior motive in promoting the organized crime element of their story, claiming that the accusations may be an attempt to elicit interest in him by the Hells Angels.