 | |
| Motto | "Angels Forever, Forever Angels" (traditional) "When we do right, nobody remembers. When we do wrong, nobody forgets." (unspecific, one-percenter saying) |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 17, 1948 |
| Location | San Bernardino, California, United States |
| Founder | Otto Friedli |
| Leader title | National President |
| Key people | Sonny Barger |
| Type | Outlaw motorcycle club |
| Region | Worldwide (467 chapters in 59 countries) |
| Website | www.hells-angels.com |
| Abbreviation | HA, 81, HAMC |
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
In May 2019, a court in Utrecht issued a verdict that made the Netherlands the first country to completely ban the Hells Angels; other countries such as Germany had banned local chapters, but never before the entire club. The United States Department of Justice considers the club to be an organized crime syndicate. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Common nicknames for the club are the "H.A.", "Red & White", "HAMC", and "81".
History
The Hells Angels originated on March 17, 1948 in Fontana, California, when several small motorcycle clubs agreed to merge. According to the Hells Angels' website,
the received suggestion is unfounded that the former troops to join the
club included misfits and malcontents. The website also notes that the
name was first suggested by an associate of the founders named Arvid
Olsen, who had served in the "Hell's Angels" squadron of the Flying
Tigers in China during World War II.
It is at least clear that the name was inspired by the tradition from
World Wars I and II whereby the Americans gave their squadrons fierce,
death-defying titles; an example of this lies in one of the three P-40
squadrons of Flying Tigers fielded in Burma and China, which was dubbed "Hell's Angels". In 1930, the Howard Hughes film Hell's Angels
showcased extraordinary and dangerous feats of aviation, and it is
believed that the World War II groups who used that name based it on the
film.
According to the Hells Angels' website, they are aware that there is an
apostrophe missing in "Hell's", but state that, "...it is you who miss
it. We don't".
This B-17F, tail number 41–24577, was named Hell's Angels after the 1930 Howard Hughes movie about World War I fighter pilots.
Some of the early history of the HAMC is not clear, and accounts differ. According to Ralph "Sonny" Barger, founder of the Oakland charter, early charters of the club were founded in San Francisco, Gardena, Fontana, Oakland
and elsewhere, with the members usually being unaware that there were
other clubs. One of the lesser-known clubs existed in North Chino/South Pomona, in the late 1960s.
Other sources claim that the Hells Angels in San Francisco were organized in 1953 by Rocky Graves, a Hells Angel member from San Bernardino ("Berdoo"), implying that the "Frisco" Hells Angels were very much aware of their forebears.
The "Frisco" Hells Angels were reorganized in 1955 with thirteen
charter members, Frank Sadilek serving as president, and using the
smaller, original logo. The Oakland charter, at the time headed by
Barger, used a larger version of the "Death's Head" patch nicknamed the
"Barger Larger", which was first used in 1959. It later became the club
standard.
The Hells Angels are often depicted in semi-mythical romantic fashion like the 19th-century James–Younger Gang: free-spirited, iconic, bound by brotherhood and loyalty. At other times, such as in the 1966 Roger Corman film The Wild Angels, they are depicted as violent and nihilistic, little more than a violent criminal gang and a scourge on society.
The club became prominent within, and established its notoriety as part of the 1960s counterculture movement in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury
District, playing a part at many of the movement's seminal events.
Members were directly connected to many of the counterculture's primary
leaders, such as Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, Allen Ginsberg, Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, Timothy Leary, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Mick Farren, and Tom Wolfe. Writing a book about the club launched the career of "Gonzo" journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
In 1973, members from several branches of the organization protested at an Environmental Protection Agency
hearing about a proposed transportation plan that included restrictions
on motorcycle use and sales to get California to meet the new Clean Air Act standards.
Criminal activities and incidents
Some United States agencies classify the Hells Angels as one of the "big four" motorcycle clubs, along with the Pagans, Outlaws, and Bandidos, and contend that members carry out widespread violent crime and organized crime, including drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, and extortion, and are involved in prostitution.
Members of the organization have continuously asserted that they are
only a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride
motorcycles together, to organize social events such as group road
trips, fundraisers, parties, and motorcycle rallies, and that any crimes
are the responsibility of the individuals who carried them out and not
the club as a whole.
On May 29, 2019, the Hells Angels were banned in the Netherlands. This is the first country in the world to outlaw the entire club. The presiding judge of the court in Utrecht called it "a danger to public order and the rule of law".
Insignia
Insignia of the Hells Angels from Karlsruhe charter, with the '1%' patch
The Hells Angels' official website attributes the official "death's
head" insignia design to Frank Sadilek, past president of the San
Francisco charter. The colors and shape of the early-style jacket emblem (prior to 1953) were copied from the insignias of the 85th Fighter Squadron and the 552nd Medium Bomber Squadron.
The Hells Angels utilize a system of patches similar to military
medals. Although the specific meaning of each patch is not publicly
known, the patches identify specific or significant actions or beliefs
of each biker.
The official colors of the Hells Angels are red lettering displayed on a
white background—hence the club's nickname "The Red and White". These
patches are worn on leather or denim jackets and vests.
Red and white are also used to display the number 81 on many
patches, as in "Support 81, Route 81". The 8 and 1 stand for the
respective positions in the alphabet of H and A. These are
used by friends and supporters of the club in deference to club rules,
which purport to restrict the wearing of Hells Angels imagery to club
members.
The diamond-shaped one-percenter patch is also used, displaying '1%' in red on a white background with a red merrowed border. The term one-percenter is said to be a response to the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) comment on the Hollister incident,
to the effect that 99% of motorcyclists were law-abiding citizens and
the last 1% were outlaws. The AMA has no record of such a statement to
the press, and calls this story apocryphal.
New York Hells Angels patch
Most members wear a rectangular patch (again, white background with
red letters and a red merrowed border) identifying their respective
charter locations. Another similarly designed patch reads "Hells
Angels". When applicable, members of the club wear a patch denoting
their position or rank within the organization. The patch is rectangular
and, similar to the patches described above, displays a white
background with red letters and a red merrowed border. Some examples of
the titles used are President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and
Sergeant at Arms.
This patch is usually worn above the 'club location' patch. Some
members also wear a patch with the initials "AFFA", which stands for
"Angels Forever; Forever Angels", referring to their lifelong membership
in the biker club (i.e., "once a member, always a member").
The book Gangs, written by Tony Thompson (a crime correspondent for The Observer), states that Stephen Cunningham,
a member of the Angels, sported a new patch after he recovered from
attempting to set a bomb, consisting of two Nazi-style SS lightning
bolts below the words 'Filthy Few'. Some law enforcement officials claim
that the patch is only awarded to those who have committed or are
prepared to commit murder on behalf of the club. According to a report
from the R. v. Bonner and Lindsay case in 2005 (see related section below),
another patch, similar to the 'Filthy Few' patch is the 'Dequiallo'
patch. This patch "signifies that the wearer has fought law enforcement
on arrest." There is no common convention as to where the patches are located on the members' jacket/vest.
Intellectual property rights
According to The Globe and Mail the Hells Angels considered seeking an injunction to block the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from broadcasting the miniseries The Last Chapter, because of how closely the biker gang at the center of the series resembled the Hells Angels.
In March 2007 the Hells Angels filed suit against the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group alleging that the film entitled Wild Hogs used both the name and distinctive logo of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation without permission. The suit was eventually voluntarily dismissed, after the Angels received assurances from Disney that the references would not appear in the film.
On October 7, 2009, Fritz Clapp, attorney at law for the Hells
Angels Motorcycle Corporation, contacted online games community FOCO,
demanding the removal of all membership marks and club trademarks from
the Los Santos Roleplay Forum. While the members of the community were
skeptical at first, Fritz Clapp posted a tweet confirming his identity.
In October 2010 the Hells Angels filed a lawsuit against Alexander McQueen for "misusing its trademark winged death heads symbol" in several items from its Autumn/Winter 2010 collection. The lawsuit is also aimed at Saks Fifth Avenue and Zappos.com,
which stock the jacquard box dress and knuckle duster ring that bear
the symbol, which has been used since at least 1948 and is protected by
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A handbag and scarf was also named
in lawsuit.
The lawyer representing Hells Angels claimed: "This isn't just about
money, it's about membership. If you've got one of these rings on, a
member might get really upset that you're an impostor."
Saks refused to comment, Zappos had no immediate comment and the
company's parent company, PPR, could not be reached for comment.
The company settled the case with the Hells Angels after agreeing to
remove all of the merchandise featuring the logo from sale on their
website, stores and concessions and recalling any of the goods that have
already been sold and destroying them.
In fall 2012 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Hells Angels sued Toys "R" Us for trademark infringement, unfair competition, and dilution
in relation to the sale of yo-yos manufactured by Yomega Corporation, a
co-defendant, which allegedly bear the "Death Head" logo. In its
complaint,
Hells Angels asserted that the mark used on the yo-yos is likely to
confuse the public into mistakenly believing that the toys originate
with Hells Angels and Yomega filed counterclaims against Hells Angels
for cancellation of the "Death Head" registrations on grounds of alleged
fraud in the procurement of the registrations. The case settled and the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice.
As of December 2013, the Hells Angels sells its branded merchandise at a retail store in Toronto, Canada.
Membership
A club member at a biker gathering in Australia, 2008
In order to become a Hells Angels prospect, candidates must have a
valid driver's license, a motorcycle over 750cc, and have the right
combination of personal qualities. It is said the club excludes child
molesters and individuals who have applied to become police or prison
officers.
After a lengthy, phased process, a prospective member is first
deemed to be a "hang-around", indicating that the individual is invited
to some club events or to meet club members at known gathering places.
If the hang-around is interested, he may be asked to become an
"associate", a status that usually lasts a year or two. At the end of
that stage, he is reclassified as "prospect", participating in some club
activities, but not having voting privileges while he is evaluated for
suitability as a full member. The last phase, and highest membership
status, is "Full Membership" or "Full-Patch".
The term "Full-Patch" refers to the complete four-piece insignia,
including the "Death Head" logo, two rockers (top rocker: "Hells
Angels"; bottom rocker: state or territory claimed) and the rectangular
"MC" patch below the wing of the Death's Head. Prospects are allowed to
wear only a bottom rocker with the state or territory name along with
the rectangular "MC" patch.
Hells Angels clubhouse in Oakland, California
To become a full member, the prospect must be voted on unanimously by the rest of the full club members.
Prior to votes being cast, a prospect usually travels to every charter
in the sponsoring charter's geographic jurisdiction
(state/province/territory) and introduces himself to every Full-Patch
member. This process allows each voting member to become familiar with
the subject and to ask any questions of concern prior to the vote. Some
form of formal induction follows, wherein the prospect affirms his
loyalty to the club and its members. The final logo patch (top "Hells
Angels" rocker) is then awarded at this initiation ceremony. The step of
attaining full membership can be referred to as "being patched".
Even after a member is patched in, the patches themselves remain
the property of HAMC rather than the member. On leaving the Hells
Angels, or being ejected, they must be returned to the club.
Worldwide charters
The former Hells Angels clubhouse at 77 East 3rd Street between First and Second Avenues in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City
The HAMC acknowledges more than a hundred charters spread over 29
countries. The Hells Angels motorcycle club founded a charter in
Auckland, New Zealand, in 1961 and has since taken over gangs in
Wanganui. New Zealand had the first charter of the Hells Angels outside
the United States.
Europe did not become widely home to the Hells Angels until 1969 when two London charters were formed. The Beatles' George Harrison invited some members of the HAMC San Francisco to stay at Apple Records in London in 1968. According to Chris O'Dell, only two members showed up at Apple Records, Frisco Pete and Bill "Sweet William" Fritsch.
Two people from London visited California, "prospected", and ultimately
joined. Two charters were issued on July 30, 1969; one for "South
London"—the re-imagined charter renewing the already existing 1950 South
London charter—and the other for "East London", but by 1973 the two
charters came together as one, called "London". The London Angels
provided security at a number of UK Underground festivals including Phun City in 1970 organized by Mick Farren. They awarded Farren an "approval patch" in 1970 for use on his first solo album Mona, which also featured Steve Peregrin Took (who was credited as "Shagrat the Vagrant").
In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a major expansion of the club into Canada. The Quebec Biker war
was a violent turf war that began in 1994 and continued until late 2002
in Montreal. The war began as the Hells Angels in Quebec began to make a
push to establish a monopoly on street-level drug sales in the
province. A number of drug dealers and crime families resisted and
established groups such as the "Alliance to fight the Angels". The war
resulted in the bombings of many establishments and murders on both
sides. It has claimed more than 150 lives and led to the incarceration of over 100 bikers.
Members of the Spanish Charter were involved in a killing and tried.
A list of acknowledged charters can be found on the HAMC's official website.
Racial policies
The club is not officially a racially segregated organization. In the United States, at least one charter allegedly requires that a candidate be a white male, and Sonny Barger stated in a BBC
interview in 2000 that "The club, as a whole, is not racist but we
probably have enough racist members that no black guy is going to get in
it." At that time the club had no black members.
Outside the United States, non-white membership is relatively
common and some chapters, such as in Turkey and South America, are
almost exclusively non-white. Notable is Gregory Woolley, a high-ranking member of the Rockers MC in Montreal who was the protégé and bodyguard of Hells Angel boss Maurice Boucher
(who spent five years in a notoriously white-supremacist motorcycle
gang, the SS). Woolley became an associate of the Hells Angels Montreal
charter in the 1990s and later tried uniting street gangs in Quebec after Boucher was imprisoned.
In another interview with leader Sonny Barger in 2000 he remarked
"if you're a motorcycle rider and you're white, you want to join the
Hell's Angels. If you black, you want to join the Dragons. That's how it is whether anyone likes it or not. We don't have no blacks and they don't have no whites." When asked if that could change Barger replied "Anything can change, I can't predict the future." Tobie Levingston who formed the black motorcycle club East Bay Dragons MC
wrote in his book that he and Sonny Barger have a long-lasting
friendship and that the Hells Angels and Dragons have a mutual
friendship and hang out and ride together.
In a 1966 article about motorcycle rebels in the African-American community magazine Ebony, the Chosen Few MC
stated that they see no racial animosity in the Hells Angels and that
when they come into Chosen Few territory they all get together and just
party.
A Hells Angel member interviewed for the magazine insisted there was no
racial prejudice in any of their clubs and stated "we don't have any
negro members" but maintained there have not been any blacks who have
sought membership.
At one point in the 1970s the Hells Angels were looking to consolidate
the different motorcycle clubs and offered every member of the Chosen
Few MC a Hells Angel badge, but the Chosen Few turned down the offer.
