An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker gang or motorcycle gang, is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the biker group.
The Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club (GJMC), are a "one-percenter" motorcycle club that was originally formed in San Bernardino, California on April Fool's Day, 1956. Though founded in the United States, the MC expanded successfully overseas and is now one of the most notorious motorcycle clubs in Australia, the United States, and Norway.
Numerous police and international intelligence agencies classify the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) as a motorcycle gang and contend that members carry out widespread violent crimes, including drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, gunrunning, extortion, and prostitution operations. 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. Members of the club have been accused of crimes and/or convicted in many host nations.
The Nomads Motorcycle Club is an outlaw motorcycle club in Australia with a large number of chapters and members nationwide. It was founded in Newcastle in 1968. A number of countries have motorcycle clubs called "Nomads Motorcycle Club", e.g. Australia, South Africa and Germany, and there is a Nomads gang in New Zealand.
The Bacchus Motorcycle Club (BMC) is an Outlaw motorcycle club in Canada. Founded during 1972 in Albert County, New Brunswick. Bacchus MC has since increased its influence, opening fifteen chapters in five Canadian provinces. It is currently the third largest Canadian established 1% motorcycle club.
Yves "Le Boss" Buteau was a Canadian outlaw biker and gangster, known for being the first national president of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club in Canada. Buteau began his life of organized crime as a member of the Montreal-based Popeyes biker gang and, by the mid-1970s, he became the club's president. He was instrumental in the Popeyes' merger with the Hells Angels in 1977, and played a significant role in establishing the Angels as a major criminal force in Quebec. In 1983, Buteau was murdered by a drug dealer with ties to a rival gang, the Outlaws.
The Popeye Moto Club, also referred to as the Popeye(s) MC, and often shortened to simply The Popeyes was a French-Canadian outlaw motorcycle club and criminal organization based across the province of Quebec. At the group's peak, they were believed to be the largest club in Montreal and the second-largest outlaw motorcycle club in Canada, behind Satan's Choice. They were also the largest of the French-speaking clubs in the country.
The Loners Motorcycle Club (LMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada in 1979. It has seventeen chapters in Canada, eleven chapters in Italy, eleven in the United States. They also possess several chapters in other countries across the world. The club was established by two prominent Italian-Canadian bikers, Frank Lenti and Gennaro Raso.
The Bandidos Motorcycle Club is classified as a motorcycle gang by law enforcement and intelligence agencies in numerous countries. While the club has denied being a criminal organization, Bandidos members have been convicted of partaking in criminal enterprises including theft, extortion, prostitution, drug trafficking and murder in various host nations.
The Wheels of Soul Motorcycle Club are a multiracial one-percenter outlaw motorcycle club. Although they are active nationwide in the United States, they are primarily based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With chapters in at least 25 states across the US, the group claims to be the country's largest mixed-race outlaw motorcycle club.
The Original Red Devils Motorcycle Club was a Canadian outlaw motorcycle club based in Southern Ontario, it was founded in Hamilton in 1948, making it Canada's oldest Motorcycle Club. The club originally went by "Red Devils", however to differentiate themselves as the original from the other motorcycle clubs using similar names they added the "Original" onto the front of their name.
The Bandidos Motorcycle Club is classified as a motorcycle gang by law enforcement and intelligence agencies in numerous countries. While the club has denied being a criminal organization, Bandidos members have been convicted of partaking in criminal enterprises including theft, extortion, prostitution, drug trafficking and murder in various host nations.
The Ontario Biker War in Canada saw the Hells Angels engage their long-term rivals the Outlaws Motorcycle Club for control of the province of Ontario. The war occurred between 1999 and 2002 and is also known as the London Biker conflict as a large majority of the events occurred in the city of London, Ontario. The Quebec Biker War, the largest motorcycle conflict in history was occurring during the same period in the province of Quebec.
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is designated an outlaw motorcycle gang by the Department of Justice. There are an estimated 92 Hells Angels chapters in 27 U.S. states, with a membership of over 800. Due to the club's designation as a "known criminal organization" by the State Department and Department of Homeland Security, the United States has a federal policy prohibiting its foreign members from entering the country. The Hells Angels partake in drug trafficking, gunrunning, extortion, money laundering, insurance fraud, kidnapping, robbery, theft, counterfeiting, contraband smuggling, loan sharking, prostitution, trafficking in stolen goods, motorcycle and motorcycle parts theft, assault, murder, bombings, arson, intimidation and contract killing. The club's role in the narcotics trade involves the production, transportation and distribution of marijuana and methamphetamine, in addition to the transportation and distribution of cocaine, hashish, heroin, LSD, MDMA, PCP and diverted pharmaceuticals. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the HAMC may earn up to $1 billion in drug sales annually.
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC), an international outlaw biker gang, has been involved in multiple crimes, alleged crimes, and violent incidents in Australia. The Hells Angels are legally classified as a criminal organisation in the Australian state of Queensland, and there have been attempts to classify them as such in New South Wales. The Hells Angels have been linked with drug trafficking and production, as well as a host of violent crimes including murder, in Australia.
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, an international outlaw biker gang, has been involved in multiple crimes, alleged crimes, and violent incidents in Canada. The Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC) has designated the Hells Angels an outlaw motorcycle gang. Hells Angels MC have been linked with drug trafficking and production, as well as many violent crimes including murder, in Canada.
The Outlaws Motorcycle Club, also known as the American Outlaws Association, or A.O.A., is classified as a motorcycle gang by various law enforcement agencies internationally. The Outlaws have been implicated in various organized crime activities, including drug trafficking, extortion, money laundering, prostitution rings, weapons trafficking, and violent acts directed at rival motorcycle clubs. Members of the Outlaws have continuously denied that the club is an organized crime syndicate, asserted that the organization is simply a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who live a nonconventional lifestyle, and described allegations by investigators and prosecutors as exaggerated.
