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An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker club or club (in Australia), is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, Dissent to mainstream culture and loyalty to the biker group. The subculture emerged in the United States in the late 1940s and has since spread globally.
In the United States, such (MCs) are considered "outlaw" not necessarily because they engage in criminal activity but because they are not sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and do not adhere to the AMA's rules. Instead, the clubs have bylaws reflecting the outlaw biker culture.
The U.S. Department of Justice defines "outlaw motorcycle gangs" (OMG) as "organizations whose members use their motorcycle clubs as conduits for criminal enterprises".
Larger motorcycle clubs often acquire real estate for use as a clubhouse or private compound. Clubhouses, which are frequently fortified and equipped with a sophisticated security system, serve as a meeting place for a club or chapter. Bonds of Brotherhood: The Origin and Growth of Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs Heather Hamilton, Office of Justice Programs (2002) To meet the expenditures of running an outlaw motorcycle club, namely the renting, purchase or furnishing of a clubhouse, groups raise funds primarily through membership dues and club fines, the sale of various items to members, the brokerage of club shares, sponsoring parties and organizing motorcycle trips. Some clubs also maintain a fund for the legal defense of its members. Policing Organized Crime p. 159 Peter Gottschalk (2010)
In these clubs, some amount of hazing may occur during the early stages (i.e., hang-around, prospecting) ranging from the mandatory performance of menial labor tasks for full patch members to sophomoric pranks and, in rare cases with some outlaw motorcycle clubs, acts of violence."Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang". Author William Queen, 2004 During this time, the prospect may wear the club name on the back of their vest but not the entire logo, though this practice may vary from club to club. To become a full member, the prospect or probate must be voted on by the rest of the full club members. Successful admission usually requires more than a simple majority, and some clubs may reject a prospect or a probate for a single dissenting vote. A formal induction follows, in which the new member affirms his loyalty to the club and its members. The final logo patch is then awarded. Full members are often referred to as "full patch members" or "patchholders" and the step of attaining full membership can be referred to as "being patched".Biker Gangs and Organized Crime. Thomas Barker. Elsevier, 1 October 2007
Many non-outlaw adopt similar insignia, colors, organizational structures, and trappings to outlaw clubs, making it difficult for outsiders (including police) to tell the groups apart. Much of the mystique and many of the unwritten rules, values, and ideals of non-outlaw clubs are believed to come from outlaw clubs.
The club patches always remain the property of the club itself, not the members, and only members are allowed to wear the club's patches. Hang-arounds or support club members wear support patches with the club's colors. A member must closely guard their colors, for allowing one's colors to fall into the hands of an outsider is an act of disgrace and may result in loss of membership in a club or some other punishment.
Law enforcement agencies have confiscated colors and other club paraphernalia of these clubs when they raid a clubhouse or the home of a MC member, and they often display these items at press conferences. These items are then used at trial to support prosecution assertions that MC members perform criminal acts on behalf of their club. Courts have found that the probative value of such items is far outweighed by their unfairly prejudicial effects on the defense.The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Case Nos. 95–2829 and 95-2879; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JOHN E. IRVIN and THOMAS E. PASTOR, Defendants-Appellants
The alleged AMA comment, supposedly about the Hollister riot of 1947, is denied by the AMA, which claims to have no record of such a statement to the press and that the story is a misquote.In March 1972 (p. 3), Chas Deane, the editor of Motorcycle Mechanics, wrote: "Motorcycling is a way of life, almost a religion to some and the next best thing to breathing for others. There is no such thing as a 'typical motorcyclist'; on the one hand we're outcasts and 'one percenters', while on the other hand we are the 'in' people." Whether the original quote is true or not, the "1%" patch is worn only by clubs characterized by criminality.Quinn JF. "Sex roles and hedonism among members of outlaw motorcycle clubs". Deviant Behavior. 1987;8:47–63.Quinn JF, Forsyth CJ. "Leathers and rolexs: The symbolism and values of the motorcycle club". Deviant Behavior. 2009;30:1–31.Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs: Aspects of the One-Percenter Culture for Emergency Department Personnel to Consider. Anand N. Bosmia, BA, James F. Quinn, PhD, ..., and R. Shane Tubbs, PhD, PA-C, MS"The Infamous 'One Percenters': A Review of the Criminality, Subculture, and Structure of Modern Biker Gangs". Danielle Shields, Justice Policy Journal, Volume 9, No. 1, Spring 2012
Outlaw clubs began wearing the "1%" patch after Hells Angels president Sonny Barger convened a meeting of the leaders of various Hells Angels chapters and other California clubs in 1960 in which the multiple clubs parleyed over the mutual problem of police harassment. The clubs voted to ally under the patch. In 1963, the Outlaws became the first club east of the Mississippi River to begin wearing the "1%" emblem. 17 Things You Didn't Know About The Outlaws Motorcycle Club Arun Singh Pundir, hotcars.com (August 27, 2021)
There are also wings or biker's wings, which are earned similarly to jump wings or pilot's wings, but with various color-coded meanings, e.g., in some clubs, it is said that a member who has had sex with a woman with venereal disease can wear green wings. It has also been suggested that these definitions are a hoax, intended to make fools of those outside the outlaw biker world and also to serve the purpose of provoking outrage among the conservative public and authorities.
Frequently, additional patches may involve symbols, such as the use of the Iron Cross, Nazi Nazi chic, the Sig Rune insignia of the Schutzstaffel or the Totenkopf. These may not indicate neo-Nazism but serve to express the outlaw biker's total rejection of social constraints and desire for the shock value among those who fail to understand the biker way.
Academic research has criticized the methodology of such previous studies as being "vague and hazy" and lacking in participant demography.Depicting outlaw motorcycle club women using anchored and unanchored research methodologies. van den Eynde, Julie University of Queensland, Australia and Veno, Arthur Monash University, Australia Such reports may have made clear statements and authoritative analyses about the role of women associated with outlaw motorcycle clubs, but few state how they have come to such conclusions; one admitting that, "his interviews with biker women were limited lest his intentions were misinterpreted" by their male companions and that such views of women are mythic and "sexist research" in itself, using deeply flawed methodologies and serve two highly political purposes of maintaining a dominance myth of women by men and amplifying the deviance of the male club members.
These myths about the women are: that they are subservient working-class women, used as objects for club sexual rites; are hard-bitten, unattractive, and politically conservative; and that they are 'money makers' for the biker men and clubs, i.e., prostitutes, topless barmaids or strippers who are forced to hand over their money to the club. A 1990 paper noted the changing role of women within outlaw motorcycle clubs, and a 2000 paper stated that they now have agency and political savvy, reframing the narratives of their lives. "We did it. We showed them we are real women dealing with real men. I'd much prefer to be living with an OMC member than some dork who is a pawn in the system", said one woman who felt she and her peers had "set the record straight". One woman in 2001 described the previous work done by men about women in the outlaw motorcycle club world by saying "the men that wrote that must be meatheads". They women are part of the scene because they want to be and enjoy it. These women have broken from society's stereotypically defined roles and found freedom in the biker world.Joan, Barbara. Bike Lust: Harleys, Women, And American Society. Univ of Wisconsin Press, 2001
High-profile outlaw bikers have historically been White people, and their clubs are typically exclusively racially homogeneous. Other sources state outright that "With few exceptions, blacks are excluded from membership or riding with one-percenter biker clubs." The average age for a club studied in 1983 was 34.
There are black clubs, white clubs, and Mexican and other Spanish-speaking clubs. Bikers in American prisons, as prisoners generally do, band together along racial lines.(Killinger and Cromwell, 1978). |doi=10.1111/j.1542-734X.1983.0602_58.x Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs- OZBiker.org Dozens of outlaw bikers arrested in ATF sting- NBC News, 21 October 2008 It is claimed that racial discrimination within clubs has led to creation of rival clubs in the past, such as the Mongols Motorcycle Club after members were rejected by the local Hells Angels chapter. Dozens of Outlaw Bikers Arrested in ATF Sting.- NBC News, 21 October 2008 Some clubs or individual chapters are now multi-racial, but the number of "white supremacist biker clubs are growing nationwide", according to the ADL.
The FBI asserts that outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) support themselves primarily through drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, and extortion and that they fight over territory and the illegal drug trade- by T. O'Connor, Austin PEA State University and collect $1 billion in illegal income annually. The Hells Angels' Devilish Business- CNN.com, 30 November 1992 Biker Gangs in Canada- CBC News, 5 April 2007 Narcotics Digest, Gangs In The United States - the National Gang Center Comprehensively Combating Methamphetamine: Impact on Health and the Environment - DEA Deputy Chief Joseph Rannazzisi, congressional testimony on 20 October 2005 The Hells Angels' Devilish Business- by Andrew E. Serwer, Fortune Magazine, 30 November 1992 Look Homeward Angel: Cycle Icon Sonny Barger Kick-Starts Life as a Free Man by Violating Parole - by Philip Martin, Phoenix New Times, 2 December 1992.
Motorcycle gangs frequently begin mutually beneficial partnerships with independent criminals and maintain an extensive network of associates by doing so. Bikers' Clubhouse Vacated, Destroyed Wilson Times (15 August 1985) Crimes are typically carried out by associates rather than "full patch" members to protect the club from implication by law enforcement. In 1985 a three-year, eleven-state FBI operation named Roughrider culminated in the largest OMG bust in history, with the confiscation of $2 million worth of illegal drugs, as well as an illegal arsenal of weapons, ranging from Uzi submachine guns to antitank weapons.- Time Magazine, 13 May 1985 In October 2008, the FBI announced the end of a six-month undercover operation by agents into the narcotics trafficking by the Mongols Motorcycle Club. The bust went down with 160 search warrants and 110 arrest warrants. Feds bust motorcycle gang with Ore. ties – KVAL-CBS, 21 October 2008
Canada, especially, has in the late 20th century experienced a significant upsurge in crime involving outlaw motorcycle clubs, most notably in what has been dubbed the Quebec Biker War, which has involved more than 150 murders Was Noye case witness killed by Hell's Angels?- Guardian Observer, 15 October 2000 (plus a young bystander killed by an exploding car bomb), 84 , and 130 cases of arson. Organized Crime Fact Sheet - Public Safety Canada The increased violence in Canada has been attributed to turf wars over the illegal drug trafficking business, specifically relating to access to the Port of Montreal, The Biker Trials: Bringing Down the Hells Angels, by Paul Cherry, ECW Press, 2005 but also as the Hells Angels have sought to obtain control of the street level trade from other rival or independent gangs in various regions of Canada. Fallen Angel: The Unlikely Rise of Walter Stadnick in the Canadian Hells Angels, by Jerry Langton, Wiley & Sons, 2006 The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Gazette, quoting from the Provincial Court of Manitoba, defines these groups as: "Any group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have voluntarily made a commitment to band together and abide by their organizations' rigorous rules enforced by violence, who engage in activities that bring them and their club into serious conflict with society and the law".
The Hells Angels sponsors charitable events for Toys for Tots in an attempt to legitimize themselves with public opinion.
Contrary to other criminal organizations, OMGs operate on an individual basis instead of top-down, which is how supporters can claim that only some members are committing crimes. Belonging guarantees each member the option of running criminal activity, using other members as support—the main characteristic of OMGs is "amoral individualism", in contrast to the hierarchical orders and bonds of "amoral familism" of other criminal organizations such as the Mafia. U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent William Queen, who infiltrated the Mongols, wrote that what makes a group like them different from the Mafia is that crime and violence are not used as expedients in pursuit of profit, but that the priorities are reversed. Mayhem and lawlessness are inherent in living "The Life" and the money they obtain by illegal means is only wanted as a way to perpetuate that lifestyle.
Recently, authorities have tried tactics aimed at undermining the gang identity and breaking up the membership. But in June 2011 the High Court of Australia overturned a law that outlawed crime-focused motorcycle clubs and required members to avoid contact with one another. In the U.S., a Federal judge rejected a prosecutor's request to seize ownership of the Mongols Motorcycle Club logo and name, saying the government had no right to the trademarks. Federal prosecutors had requested, as part of a larger criminal indictment, a court order giving the government ownership of the logo in order to prevent members from wearing the club's colors.
In Australia Diverse groups unite to fight anti-association laws. David Weber, ABC News Australia and the United States, many MCs have established statewide MC coalitions. These coalitions are composed of MCs who have chapters in the state and the occasional interested third party organization, and hold periodic meetings on neutral ground where representatives from each club meet in closed session to resolve disputes between clubs and discuss issues of common interest. Local coalitions or confederations of clubs have eliminated some of the inter-club rivalries, and together, they have acted to hire legal and PR representation.Terry the Tramp: The Life and Dangerous Times of a One Percenter. K. Randall Ball. MotorBooks International, 30 October 2011
Europol has reported that there has been steady growth in the membership of outlaw motorcycle clubs worldwide since the year 2005.
There are many outlaw motorcycle clubs in Australia - many of which are homegrown clubs (founded within the country) and have since expanded overseas. However, a good amount of the country's groups are chapters of international one-percenter clubs that originated outside of the Commonwealth of Australia, such as the Hells Angels and the Mongols MC.
The year 2007 saw an increase in the country's amount of OMCG chapters.
According to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, there are (at least) 38 outlaw motorcycle gangs operating across the nation as of 2020.
Some of the other major biker organizations (aside from Hells Angels) that have operated in Canada include the following:
Throughout the 1990s, the province of Quebec witnessed violent confrontations between rivaling outlaw biker gangs with activities that ranged from homicides to bombings.
Over the next several weeks, the violence reached a peak. In one week in September 1995, there was an assassination in a parking lot; bombings at a strip club, a bar, and the mansion of an organized crime figure; arson attacks on a pawn shop, tanning salon, and a used-car lot; and a friendly-fire incident where bikers accidentally killed three members of their club.
The Hells Angels (or "H-A" as they're often referred to) were, and continue to be, one of the more prominent biker gangs still in existence today in Quebec and other regions of Canada – having at least 34 different chapters across the country in April 2009.
Large international outlaw biker groups which have expanded into Indonesia include the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, Eight Demons Motorcycle Club, Finks Motorcycle Club, Satudarah, Rebels Motorcycle Club, Rock Machine, and the Diablos Motorcycle Club.
The most prominent Dutch club is Satudarah MC. Following the group's initial foundation in Moordrecht, they've since expanded into 44 chapters nationwide and have branched internationally within at least 20 countries. Another notable one of these groups that came out of the Netherlands is No Surrender Motorcycle Club. While not as large as Saturdarah, they have managed to set up branches overseas with an approximate total of more than one thousand members in roughly 19 nations across the globe.
Due to the notable presence of biker gangs in the Netherlands, alongside their tendency to be involved in criminal activity, certain one-percenter groups have been subject to nationwide prohibition by the Judiciary of the Netherlands.
Biker gang violence is viewed as a growing problem within the country.
The American one-percenter biker scene greatly influenced Sweden's variation of the subculture.
One notable outlaw motorcycle club to have been founded in Thailand is the Diablos Motorcycle Club. They are a support club for the larger Bandidos Motorcycle Club, which also has chapters within the country.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, approximately 500 motorcycle gangs were operating in the United States in 1991, with a combined membership of several thousand. These gangs range in levels of criminal sophistication, from groups of thugs to well-organized criminal networks. Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs Deputy John Williams, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (2008) A government survey published in 1990 found that outlaw motorcycle gangs control 40% of the traffic of dangerous drugs in the U.S., including three-quarters of the methamphetamine trade. A subsequent study concluded that outlaw motorcycle gangs control or are heavily involved in the sale of meth in 38 states.
Detroit has had an affluent presence of outlaw motorcycle clubs since the 1960s. Some of the most notable clubs to have come out of the city of Detroit include the Forbidden Wheels Motorcycle Club, Highwaymen Motorcycle Club, Outcast Motorcycle Club, Satan's Sidekicks Motorcycle Club, and Scorpions Motorcycle Club.
Motorcycle gangs in the Western U.S. deal primarily in methamphetamine. As a result of stringent laws regarding the sale of precursor chemicals and the formation of task forces to target clandestine labs in California, many methamphetamine manufacturers from the state relocated to the Pacific Northwest, where the rugged terrain and sparse population of rural Oregon and Washington made ideal conditions for clandestine meth labs. According to a 1989 report by the Western States Information Network (SWIN), 11% of drug labs seized had outlaw motorcycle gang paraphernalia present at the site. Motorcycle gangs in the western U.S. launder money through interior decorating businesses, construction companies, locksmiths, pizza parlors, jewelry businesses, and real estate.
The biker style has influenced the look of other sub-cultures such as punk subculture,Punk and Neo-Tribal Body Art. Daniel Wojcik. Univ. Press of Mississippi, 1995 heavy metal,The Post-Subcultures Reader. David Muggleton, Rupert Weinzierl. Berg, 17 April 2004 leather subcultureMovie-made America: a cultural history of American movies. Robert Sklar. Vintage Books, 1994 and cybergoth fashion,As Seen in Vogue: A Century of American Fashion in Advertising. Daniel Delis Hill. Texas Tech University Press, 15 September 2007 and, initially an American subculture, has had an international influence.The Berg Companion to Fashion. Valerie Steele. Berg, 15 November 2010 Bikers, their clothing, and motorcycles have become Mobility Without Mayhem: Safety, Cars, and Citizenship. Jeremy Packer. Duke University Press, 5 February 2008Profane Culture. Paul E. Willis. Taylor & Francis, 1978 of mythic status, their portrayal generally exaggerates a criminal or deviant association exploited by the media for personal financial interests.Framing Public Life: Perspectives on Media and Our Understanding of the Social World. Stephen D. Reese, Oscar H. Gandy, August E. Grant. Routledge, 1 June 2003
Other patches
Other patches may be worn by members, including phrases and symbols. The style or meaning of these other patches can vary between clubs. Some, such as a skull and crossbones patch, or the motto "Respect Few, Fear None", are worn in some clubs by members who commit murder or other acts of violence on behalf of the club.http://www.ktla.com/content_landing_page/?Dozens-of-Mongols-Biker-Gang-Members-Arr=1&blockID=112738&feedID=171 KTLA TV, Los Angeles
Gender and race
Most outlaw motorcycle clubs do not allow women to become full-patch members. Rather, in some 1%er clubs, women have in the past been portrayed as submissive or victims to the men, treated as property, forced into prostitution or street-level drug trafficking, and often physically and sexually abused, their roles as being those of obedient followers and their status as objects. These women are claimed to pass over any pay they receive to their partners or sometimes to the entire club. This appears to make these groups extremely gender segregated. This has not always been the case, as during the 1950s and 1960s, some Hells Angels chapters had female members.Ralph (Sonny) Barger. Hells Angel. HarperCollins, 2001. p103
Outlaw motorcycle clubs and crime
Many members of outlaw motorcycle clubs engage in criminal activities and organized crime and "pose a serious domestic threat". Law enforcement agencies perceive such individuals and motorcycle clubs as being unique among criminal groups because they maintain websites and businesses, identify themselves through patches and tattoos, write and obey constitutions and bylaws, trademark their club names and logos, and even hold publicity campaigns aimed at improving their public image. The term "outlaw motorcycle gang" was coined by the journalist Hunter S. Thompson in 1966 and was subsequently adopted by federal and local law enforcement agencies in the United States and elsewhere.
Outlaw motorcycle clubs as criminal enterprises
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Criminal Intelligence Service Canada have designated four MCs as "outlaw motorcycle gangs": the Hells Angels, the Pagans, the Outlaws, and the Bandidos, FBI Safe Street Violent Crime Initiative – Report Fiscal Year 2000– FBI.org 2004 Annual Report - Criminal Intelligence Service Canada, cisc.gc.ca known as the "Big Four". Motorcycle Gangs - Connecticut Gang Investigators Association These four have a large enough national impact to be prosecuted under the U.S. Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute. 2004 Annual Report - Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC), cisc.gc.ca The California Attorney General also lists the Mongols and the Vagos as outlaw motorcycle gangs. Organized Crime in California – 2004 Annual Report to the Legislature - California Department of Justice
Relationships between outlaw motorcycle clubs
Certain large one-percent MCs have rivalries between each other and will fight over territory and other issues. Sometimes, smaller clubs are forced into or willingly accept supportive roles for a larger one-percent club. They are sometimes required to wear a "support patch" on their vests that shows their affiliation with the dominant regional club. Smaller clubs are often allowed to form with the permission of the dominant regional club. Clubs that resist have been forcibly disbanded by being told to hand over their colors on threat of aggression. Ex-Hells Angels official says cops kept out of club- by Adrienne Packer, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 5 October 2006 Laughlin Shootout: Signs told of melee in making- by Glenn Puit and Dave Berns, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 30 April 2002 73 Bikers Arrested- New York Times, 13 March 2002
Support clubs
Larger outlaw motorcycle clubs will often establish localized smaller clubs subservient to the gang. These clubs are called support clubs, satellite clubs, or puppet clubs. They act as auxiliary groups, supporting the larger club by propelling their influence further, acting as recruitment sources, and various other ways in return for protection and bolstering their reputations. Support clubs can also be used to help the principal club facilitate criminal activities.
Regional scenes
Although the outlaw motorcycle club subculture tends to be associated with the United States, many regional scenes have emerged transcontinentally within countless nations across the globe.
Australia
Outlaw motorcycle clubs were reported to have first appeared in Australia during the 1960s. There, they are commonly referred to as "bikie gangs".
Belgium
Outlaw biker clubs first began to appear in Belgium in the 1970s, and the Belgian biker scene continued to be dominated by small local clubs until the 1990s. In 1992, Belgium's Blue Angels club became the first international club in the country when they merged with the Blue Angels of Scotland. The Hells Angels opened its first Belgian chapter in Ghent in 1997. Hell's Angels' wings clipped in Belgium Geoff Meade, Birmingham Post (8 May 1999) In 1999, the Outlaws formed its first chapter in Belgium through a "patch over" of an Indigenous Outlaws club based in Mechelen. Les Gangs de Motards Criminalisés: Une expansion internationale Xavier Raufer, Institut de Criminologie de Paris The Belgian Federal Police has designated the Bandidos, the Blue Angels, the Hells Angels and the Outlaws as criminal motorcycle gangs. Vier criminele motorbendes in België Het Laatste Nieuws (14 May 2009)
Canada
Outlaw motorcycle clubs first began to appear in Ontario and Quebec in the early 1950s. In 1978, the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada launched Project Focus, an investigation into motorcycle gangs. Hells Angels Forever Royal Canadian Mounted Police Gazette Volume: 56 (1994) By 2002, 26 motorcycle gangs were operating in Canada, the largest and most powerful of which was the Hells Angels. Canadian biker gangs are involved in money laundering, intimidation, assault, attempted murder, murder, fraud, theft, counterfeiting, loan-sharking, extortion, prostitution, escort agencies, strip clubs, and the trafficking of illegal weapons, stolen goods, contraband, and illicit alcohol and cigarettes.
Canadian West
The late 1970s and early 1980s were considered to be the "golden age" in Western Canada for independent outlaw motorcycle clubs.
Quebec
Outlaw motorcycle clubs first appeared in the Canadian province of Quebec during the early 1950s. By the year 1968, the province was home to at least 350 of such groups – with most of, if not all, being "home-grown" – rather than having origins outside of Canada (or even Quebec). Some of the most notable outlaw biker gangs at this time were Satan's Choice Motorcycle Club, Popeye Moto Club, Devil's Disciples Motorcycle Club (unrelated to the Devils Diciples), the Gitans, the Atomes, the Missiles MC, and of course, Hells Angels. The largest, most-feared chapter of Hells Angels was formed in Montreal, Quebec in 1977, when a biker gang called the Popeyes joined up the Hells Angels. After the Rock Machine emerged in 1986, they quickly became the number one rival of the Hells Angels, and a full-blown turf war between the two biker gangs erupted in the 1990s; unfortunately, claiming more than 150 individual lives, including two (2) prison guards and an innocent 11-year-old boy named Daniel Desrochers, who died several days after a planted car bomb exploded and a piece of shrapnel penetrated his head.
Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Crime Commission (2025). 9781742291635, Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. ISBN 9781742291635 Such violence and brutality was a decade-long conflict between the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine, better known as the "1994 Biker Wars." The Quebec Biker Wars officially began on 13 July 1994, when three (3) masked-men shot and killed Pierre D'aoust (member of a Hells Angels-affiliated club called the Death Riders) at a motorcycle shop in Montreal. This ongoing feud largely stemmed over territory and the narcotics trade in Quebec, while also being fueled further by long-standing rivalries, deep-seated hatred and animosities between major players in the Quebec criminal underworld at that time. To provide a general idea of the criminal underworld involvement, it's essential to recall that the Hells Angels in Quebec at that time (i.e., 1994) were backed by Vito Rizzuto (of the Montreal Mafia), while the Rock Machine were affiliated with the criminal coalition known as the Alliance Against the Angels (otherwise known as the Dark Circle). The two central figures in the 1994 conflict were the leaders of the two warring gangs (Hells Angels and the Rock Machine): Maurice "Mom" Boucher (leader of Quebec's Hells Angels); and Salvatore Cazzetta (leader of the Rock Machine). The extreme levels of violence, assassinations, bombings, arson attacks, fly-by-fire attacks eventually led to the creation and passing of both Bill C-95 in 1997 and Bill C-24 in 2001 – setting forth harsher punishments and penalties for members of gangs and organized crime groups.
Germany
American military personnel stationed there established the first outlaw biker clubs in Germany, including the Bones MC, founded in 1968, and the Ghost Riders MC, formed in 1972.
Indonesia
Outlaw motorcycle clubs began developing rapidly in Indonesia in the 1990s, although some of the country's homegrown groups are said to have existed as early as the 1970s. The presence of biker gangs in Indonesia has received national media attention.
Netherlands
Outlaw motorcycle clubs have been present in the Netherlands since the 1970s. In 1978, the Hells Angels absorbed the Kreidler Ploeg Oost biker club in Amsterdam.
New Zealand
New Zealand has a relatively large outlaw motorcycle club scene that has gained significant national and international media attention over the years.
Scandinavia
Sweden
The outlaw motorcycle club movement of Scandinavia and the Nordic countries started in Sweden after numerous groups were established throughout the country during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Thailand
The Kingdom of Thailand, along with many other parts of South-East Asia, have chapters of some of the most prominent international outlaw motorcycle clubs in the world including the Rebels Motorcycle Club, the Mongols Motorcycle Club, and the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Additionally, the Comanchero Motorcycle Club, Gremium Motorcycle Club, Satudarah MC, No Surrender Motorcycle Club, and the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club all have chapters in Thailand.
United Kingdom
The outlaw biker scene in the U.K. began as early as the 1960s and has four main independent clubs, the Blue Angels MC, Road Rats MC, Commitatus MC, and the Satans Slaves MC (unrelated to the New Zealand-based MC of the same name).
United States
The outlaw biker subculture emerged in the United States in the late 1940s, as disenfranchised service members returned from World War II and founded motorcycle clubs to replicate the camaraderie and psychological stimulation they had experienced in the war. Early biker clubs established by World War II veterans included the Boozefighters, the Hells Angels, the Market Street Commandos and the Pissed Off Bastards of Bloomington. Various other clubs, such as the Bandidos, the Sons of Silence and the Warlocks, were later formed by .
East Coast
The drug trade is the primary source of income for motorcycle gangs, and the bikers on the East Coast deal primarily in cocaine. In the 1990s, outlaw biker clubs controlled approximately 70–80% of the methamphetamine market in New York City and Albany, New York. Motorcycle gangs are also more heavily involved in prostitution on the East Coast than on the West; women operate the streets and out of gang-owned massage parlors and escort services. Eastern U.S. biker gangs use bodyguard services, horse ranches, vending machine companies, lawn services, and real estate to launder money.
Midwest
Cocaine is the drug most commonly distributed by biker gangs in the Midwest. Motorcycle gangs in the central U.S. launder money via beauty shops, towing companies, construction companies, horse ranches, and real estate.
West Coast
In post–World War II California, four motorcycle clubs—the Market Street Commandos, the Boozefighters, the Galloping Goose, and the Pissed Off Bastards of Bloomington—became prominent. Such clubs first came to the attention of state and federal authorities following the Hollister riot of July 1947. The beginnings Mike Gallagher, The Herald Statesman (August 23, 1987) As of 2008, there are approximately 60 outlaw motorcycle gangs active in California, with a combined membership of around 2,000.
Cultural influence
Outlaw motorcyclists and their clubs have been frequently portrayed and Parody in movies and the media generally, giving rise to an "outlaw biker film" genre.Two Wheels on Two Reels: A History of Biker Movies. Mike Seate. Whitehorse Press, 24 December 2000 It generally exists as a negative stereotype in the public's subconsciousAt the Movies, Strandberg, Keith. American Motorcyclist, Oct 1987 and yet has inspired fashion trendsThe Dictionary of Fashion History. Valerie Cumming, C. W. Cunnington, P. E. Cunnington. Berg, 15 November 2010Harley-Davidson and Philosophy: Full-Throttle Aristotle. Bernard E. Rollin. Open Court Publishing, 9 February 2006The Rebels: A Brotherhood of Outlaw Bikers. Daniel R. Wolf. University of Toronto Press, 1991 for both males and, as "biker babes", for females.Consumers. Eric J. Arnould, Linda Price, George Martin Zinkhan. McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2004Elle, Issues 273–275. Elle Publishing Company, 2008The House of Klein: Fashion, Controversy, and a Business Obsession. Lisa Marsh. John Wiley & Sons, 18 August 2003 The appearance has even been exploited by the fashion industry, bringing it into legal conflict with some clubs'Hells Angels sue luxury fashion house'. Brichall, Jonathan. Financial Times, 27 October 2010 [36] and simultaneously encouraging a cultural specific fetishistic look that conveys sex, danger, rebelliousness, masculinity, and working class values.
In popular culture
Literature
Television
Video games
See also
Notes
Sources
(2025). 9781550228243, ECW Press. ISBN 9781550228243
External links
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