Hells Angels
I decide that the gang I was going to discuss was the infamous motorcycle gang the Hells Angels. I decided to look at this gang in depth because I have a friend who is 85 years old and builds motors for vintage Harleys and hot rods. He would tell me stories about the Hells Angels and about Sonny Barger the leader on the gang for a very long time. He used to build all the high-performance engines for the club since most of them would run from the law and make trips across country. My choice was based on the fact that I can get more in depth and detailed interactions of how they behaved to citizens and non-club members. I also find this gang interesting to research because just as gangster rap has been glorified by pop culture motorcycle gangs have also been glorified in a way due to hit tv shows on biker gangs.
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It is undeniable when people think of motorcycle clubs or gangs the first one that comes to mind is The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC). News reports across the globe have shown HAMC involved in criminal activities such as Racketeering, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, assault, extortion, money laundering, murder, prostitution, contract killing, and trafficking in stolen goods. According to the FBI 2011 National Gang Threat assessment HAMC have also had ties to Mexican drug cartels. FBI (2011) The organization is considered an organized crime association by the United States Department of Justice. The gang has over ninety two chapters in twenty seven states within the United States. Internationally, the Hells Angels are active in twenty six foreign countries. Common nicknames for the club include “H.A., “Red and White”, and “81”.
The Hells Angels were established in 1948 in Fontana California by Otto Freidli however it still stays a mystery of the actual story of how the club came about. Motorcycles at the time were cheap after the war as surplus and as more and more veterans returned they were recruited by promises of a becoming part of a group of drinking and cursing bikers. World war two veteran looking for like-minded guys who felt like they needed to be part of a squad like they were back in the military with ranks and structure. The name Hells Angels also came from World War 2 it was a squadron of p-40’s. The squadron was named after a Howard Huges movie the Hell’s Angels. The club is known as being part of the 1% clubs the one percent that is an outlaw club that involves itself in illegal activates.
The Hells Angels Motorcycle club became a place that a young man who just got back from the war would be able to join to travel the country on a motorcycle with like-minded guys and would know that they would have his back just as if they were in the military and had his back covered like soldiers. It started off as something innocent but it slowly developed into something more once the club started to sell drugs and run guns the entire thing became more about the money and territory rather than the adventures with brotherhood.
Like many exclusive organizations and outlaw clubs, the Hells Angels maintain a great deal of secrecy involving the inner workings of their group. But enough has been written by members and observers to give a basic idea of what’s required to join. The Hells Angels were the very first outlaw club to have a formal organizational structure. To even be considered to be a prospect of this organization you must have a valid driver’s license, own a working motorcycle, never have applied to be a police officer or prison guard, not a child molester, and must have the right combination of personal qualities. Also, considering the clubs relationships with other organizations such as the Aryan Brotherhood and their liking of Nazi symbolism, all members must be white. After a lengthy process a prospective member is first asked to be a “hang-around”. This means they can attend some club events or meet club members at known gathering places. If the “hang-around” goes well, he may be asked to then become an “associate”, which is a stage that lasts one to two years. At the end of this stage he is then reclassified as a “prospect.” A prospect participates in some club activity but cannot vote while he is being evaluated for propriety as a full member. Successful prospects graduate to the level of full member or full patch. To become a full member, the prospect must be voted on unanimously by the rest of the full club members. Full patch or being “patched” refers to the fact that the member now has the right to wear all club patches including the “Death Head” symbol. When you are full patch you wear the complete four piece crest. This includes, the death head logo, two rockers, one states “Hells Angels” and the other states the state or territory, and the rectangular “MC” patch. Outlaw clubs limit chapter membership to about twenty-five, which helps maintain a strong bond between members. Each chapter contains at least six “full-patch” members. All members of the motorcycle club follow a particular structure.
Throughout the years there have been many chapters of the Hells Angels there are four hundred and sixty-nine chapters worldwide in fifty six different countries. There used to be even more in the states but some of them never lasted or they combined charters. There is a national president for the gang but there is not name that pops up for that position. The structure of the gang is interesting too because they set it up just as a military unit would be they have the president of the chapter then the vice president followed by the treasurer who keeps the money in order and the sergeant of arms, then the road captain who is in charge of all the riding and routes who rides up front with the president, then the full patch members follow behind and the prospects who are prospective members who are being tried out and finally the hangarounds who are welcome by the club but not part of the club and are not accepted to try out.
The requirement to be part of the Hells Angels is pretty straight forward. The personality should fit the club’s attitude that’s the reason they make you prospect for them. You must own a Harley Davidson they do not ride any other motorcycles since Harleys were what were usually used in World War two and it keeps with the beginning days of the club. Once you start prospecting for the club there is nothing else other than the club the club comes first over your own life. Finally joining the club is a lifelong thing there is no way out of the club. Some gangs have the most intense and horrific initiations and the Hells Angels are no different. One of the most disgusting of the initiations is to have all the members of the club to urinate and soil into a bucket that is then poured over the prospect and must be like that for the duration of the evening without washing himself off.
The prominent race of the Hells Angels famously there has been a rival gang the Mongols motorcycle club that only formed because the Hells Angels would not allow and Hispanic people into the club so the Mongols were formed as an all Latino motorcycle club. However, in recent times the European chapters of Hells Angels has allows black and mixed members. There are phases to becoming a member the first is a Hang-around where you are invited by full members where you can see what the life of an outlaw biker is all about. Then you are an Associate and your character is judged by the members. You move on to a Prospect where they determine if you have what it takes to be a full patch member. Finally you become a full patch member and from there you can be promoted to the other ranks and you get a vote in the club.
There are over 2,500 members I the Hells Angels and that is only counting half the countries that chapters are in there is unfortunately no information on the rest of the countries. The ages on biker gangs tend to drastically differ to street gangs. The average age of a biker is between twenty-seven and sixty-five. However, between twenty-one and forty-five is the average age of members that will engage in criminal activity. The average age of members to prospect in twenty-four.
This club has committed crimes all across the world but to name a few of what criminal activity they have been involved in. From Racketeering, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, assault, extortion, money laundering, murder, loan sharking, prostitution, contract killing, trafficking of stolen goods. Their enemies list has been growing throughout the years from the Bandidos, Comanheros, Finks, Miri-Clan, Mongols, Notorious, Outlaws, Pagans, Philadelphia Crime Family, Rock Machine, Satudarah, and the Vagos. They do also have alliances with the AK81, Cali Cartel, Coffin Cheaters, Aryan Brotherhood, Indian Posse, Iron Horsemen, Penose, Rizzuto Crime Family, Sinaloa Cartel, and the West End Gang that’s to name a few. The rivals and alliances are what make this even more dangerous when one fight breaks out the others join to back them up.
However, their contributions to veteran and children organizations clearly do not erase or trump their criminal lifestyle. The club states that the illegal activity that does occur is done by individual members and not the club as a whole. A banner on the Hells Angels official website states, “When we do right nobody remembers, when we do wrong nobody forgets.” They began getting a faulty reputation after one of their members killed a spectator at a 1969 Rolling Stones concert just a few feet away from Mick Jagger, the History Channel Documentary stated.
The worst and most violent crime recorded on film committed was between the Hells Angeles and their rivals the Mongols the 2002 in Laughlin Nevada at a casino a massive fight broke out and it was all captured on security camera footage where two hells angels were killed and seven were imprisoned and one mongol died and six were imprisoned. That was the last time they made the news in a very big way and both those gangs have has issues since the beginning of time.
The gang culture is iconic and has been in movies and tv shows from easy rider to sons of anarchy. The men in these clubs look like the iconic bikers in movies with long beards and sometime long hair for the older generations and the bikes differ from member to member that their bike is like no one else. It is almost like their horse back in the wild west days of past. Some of the members will also have tattoos of the club on them and the nicknames that were given to them. They will always wear their vest also known as their “cut” that will have three patches on the back with the name of the club the logo and the chapters location they are a part of. which is only reserved for outlaw motorcycle clubs. And on the front, there will be a patch for their rank. Some may even have other patches for significant things they have done for the club.
This was a very interesting gang to look at since most of the time they say that they are just a motorcycle club that doesn’t participate in illegal activity even though it does. Unlike other gangs that want to make sure everyone knows they are a club. The mystery behind them I feel like makes them even more scary. From what I was told was don’t disrespect them and they won’t have a problem with you.
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The club also has two other notable symbols which include “81” and AFFA. The symbol“81” represents H, which is the eighth letter of the alphabet, and 1 representing A, the first letter of the alphabet. AFFA is an acronym which stands for “Angels forever, forever angels.” The Hells Angels Corporation has on many occasions filed law suits in the battle to stop unauthorized users from using the “Death Head” logo. The patch is owned by the club, not the member. A nonmember discovered wearing the patch will encounter life-threatening violence. Most legal cases involving the Hells Angels motorcycle club are tried in criminal court with the United States as plaintiff. The club has brought at least fifteen trademark infringement cases in the past decade against a wide range of defendants. Some of these cases involved Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group in March of 2007 concerning the movie Wild Hogs, which used both the name and the logo of the motorcycle club without permission. In October of 2012 the club filed a law suit against Alexander McQueen for misusing the winged symbol as well. Two years later in 2012 Hells Angels took on Toys R’ Us for trademark infringement, unfair competition, and dilution for the sale of yo-yo’s which bear their symbol. As of December 2013, the Hells Angels sell its branded merchandise in their own retail store in Toronto, Canada. Over the course of seven years, it has defended its brand and label against the use in clothes, jewelry, posters, and yo-yo’s.
I ended up watching two really good Hells Angels documentaries that for one were very entertaining yet also very informative. The first was the In Search of History – Hells Angels Documentary which was televised on the History Channel in 1999 this was a bit interesting the way they told the story was more pop culture driven and a bit more an entertainment biased. The second documentary I watched was the Gangland: Biker Wars 2008 which was also televised on the History Channel. This was darker and more showed the more extreme violence that was committed by the Hells Angels as well as touching on some of the other biker gangs.
The Documentary also talks about the first time the California attorney general started to keep a close eye on them when there were members accused of raping an underage girl the club made a quick decision to sell meth to make money to pay legal fees to defend the members. Eventually the charges were dropped but in selling meth very quickly the club saw a money-making opportunity. After that the attorney general deemed the Hells Angels a menace to society. One of the previous members also claimed that all of the initiation rituals were all false and were made up by the media. A reporter was tasked to write about the Hells Angels and he said that the first time that he had seen them he thought that they looked like Genghis Khan with his men on iron horses. The documentary goes on to talk about the main things needed to be a part of the Hells Angels, loyalty, honor, and courage.
One of the documentaries the Gangland one showed footage of one of the worst gang wars from the Hells Angels and the Mongols MC fight and kill one another. It is known to be the worst and most violent crime that was committed was between the Hells Angeles and their rivals the Mongols the 2002 in Laughlin Nevada at a casino a massive fight broke out and it was all captured on security camera footage where two hells angels were killed and seven were imprisoned and one mongol died and six were imprisoned. That was the last time they made the news in a very big way and both those gangs have has issues since the beginning of time.
In the In Search of History documentary they talk about how the club first began. The Hells Angels were established in 1948 in Fontana California by Otto Freidli however it still stays a mystery of the actual story of how the club came about. They were initially part of another motorcycle club that split off and became the Hells Angels. Their iconic skull and wings patch were created by one of their chapters club president. Sonny Barger is one of the most well-
known Hells Angels and he talked about when he was a little kid he would hang around the police motorcycle cops just to talk to them about their bikes and they would sometimes let him touch them.
The first clubs of these types appear as early as the 1930’s however the violent or belligerent aspect to them didn’t appear until post WWII. The first club we see of this type is The Pissed Off Bastards of Bloomington. This club really set the tone for these organizations as they partied hard, caused fights, raced, and caused problems at large events. For example, during the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) Hollister rally in 1937 The Pissed Off Bastards of Bloomington caused a riot with another club, The Boozefighters. After the riot the announcement was made by the president of the AMA stating “99% of motorcycle riders are law abiding citizens”. This is where the term “one percenter” (1%r) comes from. This was quickly adopted by outlaw motorcycle gangs as a badge of honor. (History Channel)
After the Hollister riot and some issues within The Pissed Off Bastards of Bloomington some disgruntled members decided to form their own club. In 1948 The Hells Angels were born. But why did they decided to name themselves The Hells Angels? Many people assumed it came from a member who was a fighter pilot within The Pissed Off Bastards. Where the name came from has been a long-debated topic within the club however HAMC states this on their website “To answer the questions of lineage between HAMC and a military organization is that Arvid Olsen; “Flying Tigers” Hells Angels squadron gave the idea of the name to the actual founder of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, in Fontana, California. The selection of our colors, red on white, is a result of the association of Olsen with the HAMC founders, like the insignia of the 3Ps “Hells Angels”. The insignia of the HAMC, our copyrighted Death Head can also be traced to two variant insignia designs, the 85th Fighter Squadron and the 552nd Medium Bomber Squadron. Frank Sadliek, past president of the HAMC San Francisco Chapter designed the official “Death Head” insignia. Arvid Olsen died May 16st. 1974 in Point Clear, Alabama.” HAMC. (2013).
The main idea behind these two documentaries is that these groups were formed in a way as a need for soldiers returning from war looking for like-minded men that wanted to do whatever they wanted to do when ever and where ever. The members would also pledge to protect a club member with his life if need be just as soldiers were in wars they were coming back from. This was a very interesting gang to watch in a documentary since most of the time they say that they are just a motorcycle club that doesn’t participate in illegal activity even though it does. Unlike other gangs that want to make sure everyone knows they are a club. The mystery behind them I feel like makes them even more scary. From what I was told was don’t disrespect them and they won’t have a problem with you. The other idea is that the government assumes that Sonny Barger is the mastermind of the entire Hells Angels club and was tried as that the club was more a criminal organization than an actual motorcycle club.
The two documentaries I watched both had very good people attached to it from undercover cops, professors, and former members of the club. The main person telling his accounts of his time as the president of the Ventura chapter of the Hells Angels before he got excommunicated is George Christie. We also here from Jorge Gil-Blanco who is part of the Gang Intelligence Unit for San Mateo County, Jay Dobyns who was a former ATF agent and one of few that were able to infiltrate the Hells Angels club.
The two documentaries I watched both had very good people attached to it from undercover cops, professors, and former members of the club. The main person telling his accounts of his time as the president of the Ventura chapter of the Hells Angels before he got excommunicated is George Christie. We also here from Jorge Gil-Blanco who is part of the Gang Intelligence Unit for San Mateo County, Jay Dobyns who was a former ATF agent and one of few that were able to infiltrate the Hells Angels club.
References
- Amicis, A. D. (august 14, 2009). Hell’s Angels Criminal Enterprise. Hell’s Angels Criminal Enterprise,1-44.
- Rodriguez, L. (2005). The End of the Line: California Gangs and the Promise of Street Peace. Social Justice,32(2), 12-23.
- Lengyel, J. (Director). (1999). In Search of History – Hells Angels Documentary[Motion picture on Television]. United States: History Channel.
- Schmiedeler, M. (Producer). (2008). Gangland (Biker Wars)[Motion picture on Television]. United States: History Channel.
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