The 'Big Four' Outlaw MCs In The US Explained

U.S. Attorney Uballez aptly said, "The motorcycle is a symbol of freedom, of individualism, and the open road." Unfortunately, a small group of people think that means freedom to do as they please at all times. There are more than 300 active Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMGs) in the United States of varying sizes. Some don't have more than five members while others have memberships in the hundreds with chapters spread out across the country. Some can be identified by a "1%" patch on their vest that came about after American Motorcycle Association said that 99% of motorcyclists are law abiding citizens, implying that one percent of them are criminals.

Most civilians have heard of The Hells Angels, but they're only one of the four biggest criminal motorcycle clubs. Joining them as "Big Four" are the Pagans, the Bandidos, and the Outlaws. They might not be the most inspiring of names, but it's not the name that makes the gang. Just like any exclusive club, these gangs have strict membership requirements, including members being of a certain racial identity and owning a specific brand of motorcycle. The Hell's Angels, for example, require all members to own and ride a Harley-Davidson over 1200cc.

As a large criminal enterprise, these gangs are often indicted and charged under the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which typically targets large organizations engaging in assaults, kidnapping, distributing illegal narcotics, illegal gambling, and attempted murder. OMGs take advantage of their bikes' saddlebags and motorcycle accessories to commit their crimes.

The Hells Angels are one of the oldest motorcycle gangs in the United States, originating in 1948. They were founded in Fontana, California, but when Sonny Barger took charge of the group in 1957, he moved the mother chapter (original chapter) up north to Oakland. They quickly grew into one of the most organized, wealthiest, and well-connected motorcycle gangs in the world. By 1991 they had 72 active chapters worldwide, 30 of which were in the US. The club has been linked to crimes involving drug trafficking, assault, extortion, attempted murder, racketeering, murder, theft, money laundering, and fencing stolen property.

Many of their illegal activities are hidden behind legitimate businesses. The club has used legal loopholes to avoid paying taxes on club assets by creating their own churches known as the Church of the Angels and the Church of the Free Highway, which have ordained ministers who have performed weddings for several club members. Just like regular street gangs, outlaw motorcycle clubs have their rivals and allies as well as their own territories. The rivalry between the Hells Angels and some other clubs is so tense that it's death on sight. They'll even work with other clubs to oust their rivals.

In 2023, 16 members of both the Hells Angels and the Red Devils Motorcycle Club (RDMC) were indicted for a number of alleged violent crimes that aided in their criminal enterprise. Five club members were "charged with murder in aid of racketeering for allegedly killing a member of the Pagan's Motorcycle Club (PMC), a rival gang, on Jan. 1, 2023, in Raleigh," according to the US Department of Justice.

The Pagans, often referred to as Pagan Nation, found their origin in Maryland's Prince George's County in 1959 under the leadership of Lou Dobkin. It's a unique outlaw biker gang that once required its members to own and ride Triumph motorcycles exclusively. Moreover, they do not have any clubhouses and the bottom rocker on members' vests doesn't designate a home state. Instead it only says "East Coast" because they claim the entire east coast as their territory. The lack of clubhouses results from a 1983 RICO investigation that successfully imprisoned 20 members of the club for weapon, narcotic, and conspiracy charges. When holding club meetings, the Pagans meet at different member houses now.

The club has been linked to the production and distribution of multiple controlled substances, including cocaine, heroine, PCP, and methamphetamine. They're known to use smaller organizations to distribute drugs, likely to have some layer of separation from the crime. Their violent crimes include incidents of arson, murder, and assault while members have also been arrested for possession of explosives, money laundering, racketeering, and burglary. It's not uncommon for Pagan members to work with other organized crime organizations, especially in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Law enforcement scored a big win against the Pagans in 2023 when Christopher Lamar Baker, a Raleigh-based national leader, was sentenced to 75 years in prison. According to a press release from the Department of Justice, "Baker was convicted by a jury of 17 counts, including conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, possession of firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes—including a machine gun—and conspiracy to commit money laundering."

Often considered to be the most violent motorcycle gang in the US, the Outlaws motorcycle club originated in a bar off Route 66 in Illinois in 1935. They're recognized by the skull and cross pistons on their vest, endearingly named "Charlie." Membership to the club is exclusive to white males who are comfortable engaging in a long list of crimes, including drug trafficking, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, weapons trafficking, murder for hire, assault, extortion, and money laundering.

23 members of the Outlaws were indicted in Virginia for a slew of crimes outlined by the Washington Post. These string of crimes included members running a rival off the road in 2005 when they took his vest and left him injured, chasing down and shooting a Hells Angels member in Maine in October 2009, and an undercover officer posing as a gang member being kidnapped and threatened. Neil H. MacBride, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia at the time, said that the Outlaws' "entire environment revolves around violence." Prior to that, members of the club found themselves in court several times between 1981 and 2003.

A four month trial in 1995 involved 22 members out of Florida who found themselves at the receiving end of a 56-count indictment with allegations of drug crimes, gun violations, arson, robbery, extortion, kidnapping, and murder.

Donald Chambers of Houston, Texas, founded The Bandidos in 1966 by recruiting bikers in bars from Houston to Corpus Christi. Chambers was a Vietnam veteran who took the loyalty and camaraderie from his time in the military and instilled it into his up and coming motorcycle club. The gang's patch features a sombrero-wearing man wielding a pistol and machete By 1983, the outlaw club went international with the first charter outside the United States formed in Australia. Now there are members in Europe, Southeast Asia, New Zealand, as well as Central and South America where the gang's comforting little motto, "We are the people your parents warned you about," is spread.

The gang has a slew of badges members can wear on their vests that depict various accomplishments. One such badge, as Vice points out, is the "Expect No Mercy" patch, which signifies that member has murdered someone on behalf of the gang. The Bandidos have been proven to engage in murder, drug and weapons trafficking, extortion, money laundering, and arson. USA Today called the Bandidos the "Second-most dangerous motorcycle gang" after they clashed with rival gang, the Cossacks.  The brawl resulted in the deaths of nine people, 18 injured, and over 170 arrested.

In 2023, an inter-agency task force served a search warrant on 14 different properties in New Mexico . This warrant yielded the seizure of 151 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, numerous ballistics vests, fentanyl, meth cocaine, as well as a stolen police radio, and two arrests.