These dangerous and cruel MONGOLS

Mongols MC is an American motorcycle club (MC - Moto Club), one of the largest MCs in the world, with branches not only in the USA, but also in many countries around the world (the so-called “Big Four”): Hells Angels MC, Outlaws MC, Mongols MC, Bandidos MC, reports the Federation of Extreme and Technical Sports in Russia.

One of the Russian-language sites dedicated to the culture of Mongolia, talking about MONGOLS, speaks of the “American Mongols” quite loyally, although it mentions their “danger” to society:

"Mongols" (Mongols) is a biker club, one of the most dangerous in the world. It was created in Monte Bello, California on December 5, 1969. On October 21, 2008, the FBI brilliantly carried out Operation Black Rain to neutralize a biker club.

The backbone of the very first club were veterans of the Vietnam War, who from the first days decided to live by a strict code, which did not prevent the gang from becoming one of the most dangerous in the country within a few years.

The Mongols have always been distinguished by strict, almost harsh discipline. It is she who explains the name that this club chose for itself. Comparing themselves to the Mongol cavalry led by Genghis Khan, the Mongols admire the discipline and mutual assistance that allowed the ancient nomads to conquer almost the entire known world at that time.

Mongols' favorite motorcycles are Harley-Davidsons, and the strongest drink they can afford when traveling outside their territory is beer instead of kumiss.

The coat of arms of the Mongols (“Mongols”) until some time was the head of a grinning Mongol horseman in black glasses. Then it was replaced with the image of a chopper, behind the wheel of which sits a Mongolian driver. In addition to the image of Genghis Khan in the club’s emblem, his saying is emblazoned on the main page of their website.”

Horse tails on motorcycles are not the only identifying marks of this group. On leather or denim jackets, on shirts, the club emblem is sewn or tattooed directly on the body: Genghis Khan riding a motorcycle, with a forelock fluttering in the wind on his shaved head, in large letters above and below: Mongols MC.

We can say that the site states the closeness of brutal riders on two-wheeled horses - the Mongolian military culture. More precisely, the admiration of overseas bikers for the supposedly purely Mongolian thirst for conquest. Dangerous, often armed "Mongols", clad in black leather, racing their snarling Harleys around the world and inspired by the grandiose figure of Genghis Khan. It's strong.

Over the more than 40 years of MONGOLS' existence, their sphere of influence has spread beyond the United States to Canada, Italy and Mexico. In 2008, they appeared in the Scandinavian countries.

But if you believe other publications outlining the “history of the rise and fall” of the legendary motorcycle club, the image emerges quite creepy. Although, probably, it’s still quite driving.

However, there are suspicions that there is a deliberate denigration of the “Mongols” and even an “order” from a competing organization - the motorcycle club was created at one time to counter it...

Live Mongol, Die Mongol!

Information from the official website of Mongols MC (translation spox.ru):

Mongols MC was formed on December 5, 1969 in the East Los Angeles area of Montebello, California. The leadership of the club (Mother Chapter) was formed from the first fifteen members of the club. Within a 5-year span, divisions were formed in Los Angeles (LA), San Diego (Dago), Bakersfield, Long Beach, San Gabriel Valley (SGV), and San Fernando Valley (SFV).

Mongols MC forcibly organized the takeover of its influence in the southern California region. At that time and even now there was and is no other 1% club existing alongside Mongols MC in these areas.

Reference: The term “1%” appeared after a speech by the head of the American Motorcycle Association, who said that, in general, all motorcyclists are law-abiding guys, and only 1% are bad, like outlaws. It was then that many motorcycle clubs chose the “1%” as their symbol, flaunting the fact that they were the “bad guys.”  

There are many such motorcycle clubs in America with outlaw status. This is, first of all, the so-called BIG FOUR (“Big Four”), which includes the Hells Angels, Outlaws, The Bandidos and Mongols.

In the early 1970s, Mongols MC began pushing the American bike movement into the West Coast area. This was misunderstood at the time. What we did was a way of life for all the brothers riding their beat up old Harley Davidson motorcycles down the streets from East LA.

Most of the club's new members were American military veterans. They were accustomed to a strict vow of silence, respect and camaraderie, and the Club is what made them a force to be reckoned with!

There has always been a certain mystique about the Club. As time passed, the public realized that they could finally accept this unique American culture.

Mongols MC take their name from the Mongol Empire, which was led by Genghis Khan. The Mongols conquered a large area throughout Eastern Europe in the early 1200s.

As is known, they were extremely disciplined, superbly coordinated and brilliant tacticians. The Mongols were fearless warriors. In small numbers, but with courage in their hearts, they dominated and devastated their enemies. They were called Mongols - just like us.
We proudly wear our emblem on our backs (on the vests of club members - a Mongolian sitting on a motorcycle), but the difference now is that we ride motorcycles.

“Quality is not Quantity!” Over the years, Mongols MC has grown and organized chapters in many cities, states, and countries. We have formed a fierce motorcycle fraternity all over the world. Nobody can break!

WHEN WE REALLY DO GOOD, NOBODY REMEMBERS, AND WHEN WE MAKE A MISTAKE, NOBODY FORGETS...”

The last statement of the “Mongols” was made after their “defeat”. So what did they do that “no one forgets”? And are they really worthy of bearing the title of Mongols?

They didn’t want to be just “Latinos”...

According to the already mentioned website of the Federation of Extreme and Technical Sports, a lot of contradictory information has been published in the United States over the many years of the motorcycle club’s existence. From all this, a portrait and chronicle of the activities of this organization, bearing the name of the nation of Genghis Khan, now living peacefully on the other half of the planet, was compiled.

According to some reports, Mongols MC arose in opposition to the famous Hell's Angels motorcycle club (Hell's Angels, symbol - winged skull), the most famous, oldest, and largest motorcycle club not only in the USA, but throughout the world, which did not accept Hispanic Americans.

In total, there are up to 600 “Mongols” in the United States, mostly of Latin American origin.

“Mongols” have not only special attributes, but also a charter and a list of commandments. Club members are provided with Nextel phones for communication. The decision to admit new members to the club is made by the leadership of the Mongols, which makes up the so-called Mother Chapter.

Bikers are easily recognizable on the streets and are capable of terrifying their opponents.

They usually ride choppers and strive to resemble their idol Genghis Khan and his army, attaching a pony tail to the motorcycle. All club members, as a rule, carry firearms or bladed weapons, pieces of reinforcement, brass knuckles, not to mention heavy boots lined with steel linings

(one blow from such a shoe is enough to knock a person down in place).

Mongols and Hell's Angels

As one might expect, clashes between the Mongols and the Angels occurred constantly. Others ended in tragedy. Growing more and more as a group, the “Mongols” won for themselves the living space already occupied by the “Angels” before them. There was no way they could divide California among themselves. After a series of explosions, murders and real executions that even affected their leaders, both clubs finally concluded a pact to divide spheres of influence: Northern California was assigned to the Angels, and Southern California to the Mongols.

The first series of Mongols arrests took place in 1998 with the infiltration of agent William Queen (under the alias Billy St. John). After some time, Quinn managed to become not only a full member of the club, but also its treasurer. Based on information obtained during his 28 months of being among the bikers, 54 members were arrested at their homes and offices (in the states of California, Oklahoma, Colorado and Georgia) and convicted of various types of crimes. But the weak point of Operation No. 1 was that not a single club leader was among those arrested.

The most interesting thing is that the coverage of the events of those years in the press and on television caused a reverse reaction, namely, a whole stream of people wanting to join a motorcycle club, the number of members of which began to grow at an unprecedented speed. And the “Mongols” decided to open another branch of the club - in San Jose, although they perfectly understood that, according to the concluded pact, they had no right to meddle in Northern California.

The “angels,” as one might expect, were furious at such impudence. Their already far from friendly relations finally worsened.

In April 2002, a huge number of bikers from all over the country, participating in the annual motocross, gathered in Laughlin, Nevada (sort of Las Vegas on the Colorado River). Both rival bike clubs tried to stay away from each other. They even chose hotel rooms in different parts of the city.

And yet, one group of “Angels” got into trouble themselves. That evening they decided to go on a drinking spree at Harrah's Casino, where they knew the Mongols were staying.

Roger Pinney, the 43-year-old leader of the Mongols, and his henchman Ruben Cavazos were playing in a casino, surrounded by dozens of bodyguards.  

Seeing his enemies, Pinney bravely rushed into the midst of them, hoping to extinguish the brewing conflict and avoid a fight in the wrong place. At the same time, the Angels rushed at the Mongols, and the entire mass of bikers literally exploded in a frantic fight.

Pinney was stabbed four times and died on the spot. Two “Angels” – 50 and 27 years old – were shot dead, and dozens were injured. If it weren’t for a whole squad of police who burst into the casino and dispersed the fighters, the victims on both sides would have numbered in the dozens.

Instead of the stabbed Pinney, “Doc” Cavazos became the eldest. Two days later, one of the Angels involved in the casino brawl, Manuel Vincent Martin, who allegedly stabbed Pinney to death, was gunned down on his motorcycle at night on a Glendale street.

"Doc" Cavazos is second from left.

In September 2008, witnesses identified “Mongolian” Christopher Ablett, who shot and killed the president of the Hells Angels club in San Francisco, Mark “Papa” Guardado.

On the day that two thousand Angels and members of other motorcycle clubs buried Pope, police announced a $5 million reward for anyone who would turn Ablett in.

On October 6, Ablett turned himself in to authorities, pleading guilty to Guardado's murder. Apparently, fearing reprisals and lynching, he ensured that he was tried outside of San Francisco and kept separately from the prisoners.

Based on materials from criminal cases and information from informants:

A real cult of violence flourished in the club. One of the newcomers was told that if he wanted to be accepted among the “Mongols,” he must be ready to kill and be killed for their interests.

Like many informal groups, among the Mongols there are special rules for wearing symbols that indicate a certain status in the club. For example, the image of a skull and crossbones or the motto Respect Few, Fear None ("A little respect, no fear") can only be worn by those who have committed murder or taken part in other violent actions of the Mongols.

One of the club members received the right to put status tattoos on his shaved head only after he shot two people from a rival organization.

Decals - Multicolored Wing Party Wings

Some symbols are associated with special sexual rituals of the Mongols. The images of multi-colored wings on the vest (worn on the left in a vertical row) mean that this “Mongol” participated in a special biker sex party, the so-called Wing Party, where he had sexual relations with women. Sex with a partner suffering from a sexually transmitted disease gives you the right to wear green wings. For necrophilia, or sexual intercourse with a corpse, the club awards purple wings. It was not possible to find out what the other colors of the wings mean.

The 177-page indictment states that the Mongols targeted not only their rivals from the Hells Angels, but also random people. African Americans became random victims of the Mongols, as racist beliefs flourish among bikers.

In 2007, on Valentine's Day, motorcyclists nicknamed Villain and Danger (Villain and Thunderstorm) beat a man to death in a Lancaster nightclub. The deceased allegedly insulted the “Mongols.”

Another "Mongol" is accused of opening fire on customers at a Riverside bar and then trying to run them over. Finally, a biker nicknamed Dago Bull (Italian Bull) completely admitted that, together with two henchmen, he tortured a man in 2006. The attackers broke the victim's joints with pliers and also broke his knee with a metal pipe.

Another member of the group reported a beating, after which he took his opponent's knocked out tooth and attached it to the microwave as a souvenir.

Finally, the “Mongol” Monster and two accomplices beat up an African-American in a Hollywood bar in 2006. At the same time, he shouted racist slogans. And other bikers beat up a Latina just because she was communicating with a black man.

A selection of video chronicles with the “adventures” of Mongols MC (including fights with Hells Angels and murders):

Some of the bikers have such ominous nicknames as Monster, Danger and Violent Ed. 

Among the most notorious crimes is a clash with the Hells Angels at a casino in Laughlin in Nevada, which occurred back in 2002 - then one Mongol and two representatives of a rival motorcycle club were killed. In 2005, the Mongols "checked in" at the Toys for Tots store, and in 2007 they committed a crime at the Chuck E. Cheese movie theater in San Diego.

The Mongols' main source of income is the methamphetamine trade. The investigation recorded many sales transactions for this drug, and some of them involved batches of the potion weighing 0.5 kilograms.

In Rosemead, 10 miles from Los Angeles, La Sangra, a trusted agent of Mexican drug dealers, ran a drug laboratory in a motel. Several "Mongols", who happened to be staying at the same motel, noticed the transactions taking place there and, apparently regarding this as competition, broke into their room.

A verbal altercation ensued, as a result of which one of the “Mongols” was shot. Thanks to the mess, the police, who quickly arrived at the crime scene, discovered a secret drug laboratory.

The Mongols' headquarters were located in the city of West Covina, 20 kilometers east of Los Angeles. At the same time, the gang’s residence was guarded by bandits wearing bulletproof vests and armed with shotguns and rifles, the indictment says.

US police operation "Black rain"

All these details about the internal life, structure and atrocities of the “Mongols” became known thanks to four intelligence officers who infiltrated the gang and worked undercover. In addition, the agents managed to recruit four “Mongols” who became their informants.  

It was very difficult to get to them. As in any group, they treat a newcomer with suspicion and distrust, and until they thoroughly check him, they will not let him close to them. He is even tested on a lie detector, while at the same time collecting all the details about him through a private detective. Four ATF agents also had to go through all this. Only in 2007 they were accepted into the club.

To be accepted by the gang and also to stay alive, agents had to not only complete the task, but also take care of their background.

In 2008, the United States Police launched a large-scale raid in several states at once to neutralize a powerful biker organization.

Video – Operation “Black Rain”:

The 177-page federal indictment alleges that club members were involved in a wide range of criminal activities, including murder, attempted murder inflicting great bodily harm, acts of hatred against African Americans, aggression and violence, and wearing cold and firearms, racketeering, money laundering, drug trafficking and much more.

 As part of the investigation, 110 federal arrest warrants and 160 search warrants were issued in six US states. About 1,000 ATF and other law enforcement officers were involved in the operation, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The one-day purge, carried out simultaneously in California, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Ohio, resulted in more than 60 arrests and the seizure of explosives, hundreds of firearms and drugs.

Almost the entire leadership of the Mongols was taken into custody.

John Torres, in charge of the California operation to neutralize the Mongols, commented: “The leadership of the Mongols, one of the most powerful and dangerous biker gangs, has been successfully eliminated. Our employees, risking their own lives and forgetting about themselves and their families for three years, showed fearlessness and dedication, infiltrating the gang, managing to win their trust and become one of their own among strangers. It was thanks to their courage that we were able to carry out a complex operation and protect our community from a dangerous and cruel group that has spread fear around us for many years. We are all extremely grateful to them."

On the day of the arrests, two dozen motorcyclists lined up in protest in front of LAPD headquarters. Everyone is on modified Harleys, decorated in every way possible - the main thing is that the chrome-plated horses, along with their riders, have an intimidating appearance. All were ostentatiously displaying Mongol insignia, one with a fiberglass skull clutched in the talons of an eagle.

About Operation Black Rain from the official Mongols MC website:

Rubin "DOC" Cavazos (he replaced Pinney, who was stabbed to death in a Nevada casino) - OUT BAD! Accused of turning the club into one of the largest criminal organizations along the West Coast of the United States during his time as president of the club.

He also recruited members of street gangs into the club who had an aversion to old-school motorcyclists. He was not elected to the club on August 30, 2008 during a meeting in Vernon, California, due to the majority of members who believed that he was stealing from the club and causing a war with the Mexican Mafia.

On October 21, 2008, Cavazos and 79 other Mongols were arrested by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives following an investigation into the club known as Operation Black Rain.

Police raided his 2,760 square foot home in South Hill, West Cowaine, California, where he lived with his son, Ruben "Lil Rubes" Jr. Cavazos, and brother, Al "Suit" Cavazos, and seized firearms and bulletproof vests. Following his arrest during Operation Black Rain, he pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and bravely faced his sentence of 20 years in prison.

He was the very first “Mongol” to plead guilty.

According to police representatives, they were now going through the court to seek a ban on the use of the symbols of the Mongols motorcycle club, which has been stained with particularly serious crimes.

If the court agrees with the prosecution's position, then appearing on the street wearing a jacket with the symbols of the Mongols or riding a motorcycle bearing the distinctive signs of this group will be considered an offense, explained prosecutor Thomas O'Brien.

“We are fighting not only against specific bikers, but also against the very symbols of the Mongols motorcycle club,” the prosecutor added. “We will use every means possible to destroy this brutal gang.”

BUT!!!

The video “Mongols” was released on October 2, 2010 with the caption:

“Mongols MC has won again! In a ruling issued on September 21st and filed on September 24th, Federal District Judge Otis D. Wright ruled that the United States cannot seize the club's name and assets.

Judge Wright ruled that his previously issued "preliminary forfeiture order was granted in error."

The issue of whether the DOJ and ATF could have simply stolen the Mongols MC's name and assets was finally settled in July 2009.

But then Christopher Brunwin and Steven Welk, two of the prosecutors in the case, as well as the ATF agents who carried out the operation, simply refused to understand that they had lost and the Mongols had won again.

The president of the court, the late Florence Marie Cooper, wrote a formidable ruling that made it clear that the government could not strip us of our name.

In short, you cannot stop the Mongol Nation!!!!"

Currently, the Mongols continue their activities, which can be read on the club’s official website. The main page now states: “We are Mongols MC, the best of the best! The Club has taken some tough hits recently but has persevered through these difficult times. We are back, there are MORE of us, we have become BETTER and STRONGER!!!

WHEN WE REALLY DO GOOD, NOBODY REMEMBERS, AND WHEN WE MAKE A MISTAKE, NOBODY FORGETS...

Live Mongol, Die Mongol!

Live like a Mongol! Die like a Mongol!”

ARD: MONGOLS MC, according to them, are still “on horseback”. However, it is interesting that not one of the Mongolian motorcycle clubs, of which there are quite a few in Mongolia, dared to take the name of the entire nation...

And these are real MONGOLS - Mongolian bikers from the Red Falcons motorcycle club.

. Photo 03.mvd.ru

Photo ulanude.bezformata.ru.

All photos, except those specially marked – Federation of Extreme and Technical Sports, www.spox.ru

Gang Mongols MC

The Mongols MC motorcycle club was formed in the 1970s in the San Gabriel Valley in southern California and, according to some sources, it arose in opposition to the famous Hells Angels,

who did not accept Spanish-speaking Latin Americans into their ranks. In total, there are up to 600 “Mongols” in the United States, mostly of Latin American origin. The organizers of the “club” were inspired by the cruel romance of the hordes of ferocious, wild, bloodthirsty and aggressive barbarians who have sunk into centuries. In addition to the image of Genghis Khan in the club emblem itself,

His saying appears on the main page of the Mongols MC website. They created the image of American “Mongols” - reckless riders on iron horses with pony tails attached, reckless, the image of a wild medieval horde in the interiors of the 21st century. They get a thrill not only from a crazy ride, they find a thrill from the fact that they terrify others with just their terrifying appearance.

This club, which from the very beginning labeled itself “Outlaw,” immediately began to attract the attention of the police with a pronounced tendency to commit various types of crimes.

The club grew quickly and soon the “Mongols” were already meeting on the roads of Oregon, New York, Indiana, Florida, Virginia, Nevada, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona, and Montana.

Their sphere of influence then spread beyond the United States to Canada, Italy and Mexico. In 2008, they appeared in the Scandinavian countries.

Today, in the United States alone, there are up to 600 members of the Mongols club, 400 of them are in California. Being a specific Latin American group in terms of the national majority, the “Mongols” treat blacks in the same way as the white “angels” - they constantly put them down, attack them, often severely beating them, or even maiming them. They beat girls of their own race because they “hang around with black creatures.” As one would expect, although due to the reasons for the appearance of the club, showdowns between the “Mongols” and the “angels” occurred constantly. Others ended with just more graves in the cemetery. Growing more and more as a group, the “Mongols” cut into the living space already occupied by the “angels” before them. It was difficult for them to divide between themselves California and niches in the criminal business. The battle was for a place in one common food chain. After a series of explosions, attacks, shootouts, murders and real executions that even affected their leaders, both clubs finally concluded a pact to divide spheres of influence: Northern California was assigned to the “angels”, and Southern California to the “Mongols”.

Mini-horse tails on motorcycles are not the only identifying marks of this group. On leather or denim jackets, on shirts, the club emblem is sewn or tattooed directly on the body: Genghis Khan riding a motorcycle, with his forelock blowing in the wind on his shaved head, in large letters above and below: Mongols MC.

They have their own, clearly developed symbolism, which without further ado informs people “in the subject” about the merits and magnitude of the authority of the bearer of the symbolism. For example, a skull and crossbones or the motto Respect Few, Fear None (something like: “Respect a few, fear none”) can only be worn by someone who has committed murder, participated in a brutal gang reprisal against an enemy, or taken part in other violent acts. "Mongols" promotions. One bald “Mongol” received the right to put status tattoos on his head only after he killed two bikers from a motorcycle club unfriendly to the Mongols.

“Mongols” have not only special attributes, but also their own concepts - they have a charter and a list of commandments. Gang members are given Nextel mobile phones for communication. Some symbols are associated with special sexual rituals of the Mongols. Images of multi-colored wings mean that this “Mongol” took direct part in a special biker porn party, the so-called Wing Party, where he had sexual intercourse with women during group sex. Sex with a partner suffering from a sexually transmitted disease gives you the right to wear green wings. For necrophilia, or sexual intercourse with a corpse, the gang is awarded purple wings. The Mongols' main source of income is drug trafficking, mainly speed and methamphetamine. The investigation recorded many transactions for the sale of this drug, some transactions involved shipments of “speed” weighing 0.5 kilograms.

A real cult of violence flourished in the gang. One of the newcomers was told that if he wanted to be accepted among the “Mongols,” he must be ready to kill and be killed for their interests.

The first operation against the Mongols MC was undertaken by the police in 1998, it became possible with the introduction of agent William Queen under the fake name Billy St. John. After some time, the cunning Quinn managed to become not only a full member of the club, but also its treasurer. Based on information obtained by an embedded informer over 28 months of living among bikers, 54 bikers were arrested at their homes and offices (in the states of California, Oklahoma, Colorado and Georgia) and convicted of a variety of crimes. The weak point of this operation was that among those arrested there was not a single serious general of the group.

It is curious that the coverage of the events of those years in the media gave rise to the opposite reaction: an unprecedented influx of those wishing to join the ranks of Mongols MC, the number of fighters of which began to grow at an unprecedented speed.

To celebrate, the “Mongols” decided to open another branch of the club - in San Jose, while they perfectly understood that, according to the concluded pact, they had no right to enter someone else’s territory - Northern California. The “angels,” as one might expect, were furious at such impudence. Their already far from friendly relations finally worsened.

In 2008, a second large-scale operation took place against members of Mongols MC - American cops staged a large-scale raid in several states at once to neutralize this powerful gang of bikers.

Almost the entire top of the Mongols was taken into custody. It was about the largest arrest of members of biker gangs in US history. In total, approximately 110 federal arrest warrants were issued in six states as part of the Mongols investigation.

On that day, events unfolded rapidly, in the best traditions of an American action movie. Surely it was a spectacular and exciting spectacle: surveillance, ambushes, snipers placed on the roofs of neighboring houses, and, finally, massive raids, knocking out doors in special forces boots in the pre-dawn hours. Under the guns of snipers, muscular, trained men who knew how to stand up for themselves were taken out - until they found themselves shackled and laid face down on the asphalt.

Reading scattered reports in the American press about the work done by the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) under the code name Black Rain to defeat the Mongols MC, one gets the feeling that this is not a story about real events, but about scripts for another stupid, but traditionally spectacular American action movie.

At the time of their arrest, members of the Mongols group were suspected of murder, attempted murder and infliction of grievous bodily harm. The Mongols' headquarters were located in the city of West Covina, 20 kilometers east of Los Angeles. At the same time, the gang’s residence was guarded by “bulls” in bulletproof vests, armed with shotguns and rifles. The Mongols, among other things, were charged with racketeering, money laundering, and illegal possession of drugs and weapons. The bikers used pistols, knives, pieces of reinforcement, brass knuckles and heavy boots with metal linings as weapons to deal with undesirables. The 177-page indictment states that the Mongols targeted not only their rivals from the Hells Angels, but also random people.

The first three pages of the indictment alone mention 79 “Mongols” involved in brutal crimes. The nicknames that members of this motorized horde give themselves are designed to intimidate: Monster, Danger, Violent Ed, Villain, etc. ). Among the most notorious crimes is a clash with the Hells Angels in a casino in Laughlin in Nevada, which occurred back in 2002 - then one “Mongol” and two representatives of the Hells Angels were killed. In April 2002, a large number of bikers from all over the country, participating in the traditional annual motocross, gathered in Laughlin, Nevada (sort of Las Vegas on the Colorado River). Both warring parties tried to stay away from each other. They even rented rooms in different parts of the city. And yet, one group of “angels” themselves made a confident bid to participate in the bloodbath. That evening they decided to have a drinking party at Harrah's Casino - where, as they knew, the main base of the Mongols hung out. The 43-year-old leader of the “Mongols” Roger Pinney and his close associate Ruben Cavazos squandered money in a casino, surrounded by dozens of bodyguards. As soon as he saw his enemies, Pinney immediately ran towards them, hoping to extinguish the brewing conflict and avoid a fight in the wrong place. At the same time, the “angels” rushed at the “Mongols”, as a result, a crowd of bikers converged wall to wall and began enthusiastically crushing each other with all available means. Pinney was stabbed four times and passed away, dying on the spot. Two “angels” – 50 and 27 years old – were shot dead, and dozens of fighters were injured. If it weren’t for a whole police squad that burst into the casino and barely stopped the fight, there could have been a lot more corpses. After the Laughlin massacre, Mongols president R. "Ramjet" Pinney was replaced by R. "Doc" Cavazos, a former sergeant-at-arms, and he was in turn replaced by his son, Cavazos Jr., who also rose to the rank of '' in the gang. Sergeant at Arms''. This is such a “labor dynasty” and continuity of generations... Two days later, one of the “angels” who participated in the showdown at the casino, Manuel Vincent Martin, who allegedly stabbed the leader of Mongols MC, was shot dead at night on the street in the Glendale area.

In Rosemead, 10 miles from Los Angeles, La Sangra, a trusted agent of Mexican drug dealers, ran a drug laboratory in a motel. Several “Mongols”, who happened to be staying at the same motel, “disappeared” the transactions taking place there and, regarding this as competition, broke into the dealers’ room. A tense conversation ensued, as a result of which one of the “Mongols” was shot. Thanks to the disassembly, the police, who quickly arrived at the crime scene, discovered a secret drug laboratory.

In 2005, the Mongols caused mayhem at the Toys for Tots store, and in 2007 they committed a crime at the Chuck E. Cheese movie theater chain located in San Diego.

African Americans became random victims of the Mongols, as racist beliefs flourish among bikers. In 2007, on Valentine's Day, motorcyclists nicknamed Villain and Danger (Villain and Thunderstorm) beat a man to death in a Lancaster nightclub. The deceased did not watch his language. Another "Mongol" opened fire on customers of the Riverside bar, and then tried to run them over. A biker nicknamed Dago Bull admitted that he and two henchmen tortured a man in 2006. The attackers broke the victim's joints with pliers and also broke his knee with a piece of metal pipe. Another member of the group reported a beating, after which he took his opponent's knocked out tooth and attached it to his microwave as a souvenir. Finally, the “Mongol” Monster and two colleagues brutally beat a black man in a Hollywood bar in 2006. At the same time, he chanted racist slogans. And other bikers beat up the Latina just because she was communicating with a black man.

''A fun'' party, to say the least... The state clearly spared no resources to put an end to the presumptuous bikers. In September 2008, witnesses identified “Mongolian” Christopher Ablett, who shot and killed the president of the San Francisco chapter of the Hells Angels club, Mark “Papa” Guardado. On the day that two thousand “angels” and members of other motorcycle clubs were burying the Pope, police announced a $5 million reward for anyone who would turn Ablett over to them. On October 6, Ablett himself surrendered to the authorities, admitting that he sent Guardado to another world. Apparently fearing reprisals and lynching, he managed to ensure that he was tried outside of San Francisco and kept separately from other prisoners. The success of the operation was made possible thanks to four secret service officers who worked undercover in the gang. In addition, the agents managed to turn four “Mongols” into “rats”, who began to leak information. It was very difficult to get to them. As in any organized crime group, they treat a candidate for a gang with suspicion and distrust, and until they thoroughly check him, they will not let him close to them. It's a matter of survival. They will even test him with a lie detector, while at the same time collecting all the details about him through a private detective. Four ATF agents also had to go through all this. Only in 2007 they were accepted into the club. The decision to admit new members is made by the leadership of the “Mongols”, which makes up the so-called Mother Chapter.

Agents had to live separately from their families, in houses designed to look like the homes of other club members and to suit their lifestyle. Female intelligence officers were also involved in the operation, playing the role of girlfriends of the infiltrated agents and attending parties with them. According to the laws of the gang, aunts cannot be full members. But if agents came to parties alone, without girlfriends, this would arouse suspicion among the “brothers.” To be accepted by the motorcycle club and also to stay alive, agents had to not only complete the task, but also take care of their cover. ATF Special Agent John Torres, responsible for the California operation to neutralize the Mongols MC, commented on the results of the operation: “The leadership of the Mongols, one of the most powerful and dangerous biker gangs, has been successfully eliminated. Our employees, risking their own lives and forgetting about themselves and their families for three years, showed fearlessness and dedication, infiltrating the gang, managing to win their trust and become one of their own among strangers. It was thanks to their courage that we were able to carry out a complex operation and protect our community from a dangerous and cruel group that has spread fear around us for many years. We are all extremely grateful to them.”

Among the collected evidence were recordings of telephone conversations between bikers, which they usually conduct in a coded language, their internal gang slang. It is assumed that in these conversations the motorcyclists agreed on new crimes. As a result of the investigation, there were more people in prisons; in addition, police representatives through the court obtained a ban on the use of the symbols of the Mongols motorcycle club, which was stained with particularly serious crimes. Appearing on the street wearing a jacket with the symbols of the Mongols or riding a motorcycle bearing the distinctive insignia of this group is considered an offense.

“We are fighting not only against specific bikers, but also against the very symbols of the Mongols motorcycle club,” the prosecutor said. “We will use every means possible to destroy this brutal gang.” One thing we can be sure of to this day is that depriving the Mongols MC of their symbols will clearly not solve the problem as a whole, the spirit of these people is truly daring.

Los Angeles remembered another incident on the day of large-scale arrests - that day, more than twenty bikers lined up in protest in front of the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters. All on cool, customized Harleys, intricately and intimidatingly decorated. All of them were defiantly wearing the symbols of the “Mongols”...

Motorcycle clubs in Russia: addresses, passwords, appearances

The history of motorcycle clubs originates in the USA. It was there that motorcyclists, in search of like-minded people, began to gather in garages and plow the endless roads of the United States on oiled “iron horses.” The first Yonkers MC club was created at the beginning of the last century - in 1903. A year later, in the same image and likeness, enthusiasts organized another one - San Francisco MC. The third legendary association is considered to be Oakland MC. It appeared later - in 1907.

The image of bikers committing crime appeared for a reason. Previously, they really staged drunken brawls in bars and frightened ordinary Americans with their appearance. The age of such leisure ended with the creation of the American Motorcycle Association. The president of the organization, honestly chosen by the bikers, said that the association would put an end to criminal behavior and make the movement safe for ordinary people. The rowdies were expelled from the association, and since then the motorcycle clubs have led a more or less quiet lifestyle.

Image mage by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay

Today there are many motorcycle clubs scattered around the world. The most famous are 4 associations that bikers call among themselves the “Big Four”: “Hells Angels”, Outlaw MC, Pagans MC and Bandidos MC. By the way, their branches are also in Russia.

Over time, associations developed their own structure, set of rules, symbols and terminology. Clubs take this very seriously. For motorcyclists, this is not just an association; relationships in such communities are more like brotherhood. Therefore, failure to comply with the rules, for example, can lead to expulsion from the club.

How motorcycle clubs appeared in Russia

Photo: unsplash.com

It took almost a hundred years for motorcycle clubs to reach Russia. Because of the Iron Curtain, information about them practically did not reach Soviet citizens. It was possible to see bikers uniting in action films, but this was still not enough to create a full-fledged movement. The first motorcycle club can be called Cossacks MC Russia. It appeared in 1989, and was created by the legend of the motorcycle world Oleg Goch. He spotted the idea in Copenhagen. As the biker said in one of his interviews, his friends dragged him to the Hells Angels clubhouse.

“My jaw dropped! Old school choppers, real bikers, all in a themed setting. We haven't even seen this in pictures! I didn’t leave there for three days, it was there that I learned about MC clubs, about “flowers”. There, the tattoo artist drew our future emblem. I was the first Soviet biker to join the HAMC structure,” said Oleg Goch

What motorcycle clubs are there in Russia?

There are a great many motorcycle clubs in the vastness of Russia. In almost all cities of the country you can find a community of fans of “iron” horses. We decided to study the largest of them.

Bandidos MC Russia

Where : Moscow

Branch of the world famous and oldest motorcycle club. Races and parties are held there regularly. The event program can be found on the official website of the motorcycle club.

Leaving into the night MCC

Where : Moscow, Krasnodar, Aprelevka

One of the oldest motorcycle clubs in Russia. Bikers regularly get together at car rallies and events.

“Our association is based on the unshakable eternal postulates of the Men's Brotherhood. The basis of our relationship is respect and recognition of a comrade as an individual,” says the club’s official website.

Legion MC

Where : St. Petersburg

The motorcycle club, created in 1999, still exists and is active.

“In order to become a member of the club, you need to have a desire, a motorcycle and meet certain club criteria. But staying with them in the future is even more difficult, because you need to give a part of yourself, and not just visit a company of interests,” says the movement’s website.

In 2006, club representatives built a full-fledged Club house, where the community is based to this day.

Black knives

Where : Ekaterinburg

The motorcycle club opened on March 23, 2002. Over the years of its existence, it has become widely known in Yekaterinburg, the Ural region and beyond as a democratic organization of motorcycle sports and tourism lovers.

“One of the goals of the motorcycle club is to support Russian patriotic traditions based on the continuity of generations, love for one’s country and city,” the club says on its social networks.

Night Wolves

Where : there are branches of the club in many cities of Russia; the full list can be found on the website.

“Night Wolves” is the second oldest Russian motorcycle club, which still exists in Russia as a public non-profit organization “Russian Motorcyclists” registered in 1995. Has a Bike Center in Nizhniye Mnevniki in Moscow. He is a member of the Russian Bikers Association.

hell's Angels

Where : Moscow

One of the oldest and largest motorcycle clubs in the world. Its branches (so-called “chapters”) are scattered throughout the world. It is one of the “big four” outlaw clubs and is the most famous among them.

Free Brothers MC

Where : Saratov, Moscow

The history of the club began in 2003. He appeared in opposition to another motorcycle club, which had strict rules and restrictions. Now the community is organizing various events and doing its best to promote the development of the biker movement.

Motor Brotherhood M.C.C.

Where : Klintsy (Moscow region)

“The United Motorcycle Club “Motor Brotherhood” was created on the basis of the amateur Sports and Technical Club “MOTO-X” in Klintsy, formed in 1999. The purpose of creating the Club was to unite everyone who preferred to move on two wheels, be it sports or recreation, which determined the name of the Club,” the club’s official website reports.

Dobermans MCC

Where : Moscow

A relatively young motorcycle club was founded by like-minded people in 2021. Its participants actively conduct motorcycle seasons in the Moscow region.

“If you have a desire to join our Club, you should remember that your social status or the cost of your motorcycle is absolutely not important to us, but it is important to us that you have a desire to support and develop the Club, so that there is that very spirit of freedom that draws you to a path towards freedom and adventure,” say the creators.

They're not afraid of you, guys. They're afraid of what you represent, And what you bring - Freedom! It is impossible to be free if you are a clerk in a shop. " Easy Rider"
The history of the biker movement goes back about 50 years. The history of biker cinema is almost the same. As soon as bikers showed themselves in all their glory, Hollywood began making films about them.
Of course, films where a motorcycle flashed in the frame appeared almost immediately after the birth of cinema; it can be seen in the short films of Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, etc. But these films cannot be called biker films, just as a film with a horse cannot be called a Western, because in them the motorcycle is simply a means of transportation. The film that marked the beginning of the era of "biker" cinema, in which the main character was not a man or a motorcycle, but a man-on-a-motorcycle, and in which both the basic principles of biker cinema and many of the basic principles of the biker movement in general were proclaimed ( but more on that later), appeared in 1953.
A few years earlier, veterans of the Second World War, who could not find a place in peaceful life, exchanged fast combat aircraft for fast and, for the time being, peaceful motorcycles, and began to form clubs. The most popular of them were the Hells Angels, who named themselves in honor of their squadron, but they were by no means the most evil, aggressive and detached, and at that time they were not even the most famous - journalists and cinema later made them so.
In 1947, in the provincial town of Hollister, previously known only as the 47th place in the United States for garlic harvesting, a traditional annual “motorcycle ride through the hills” was planned. Respectable fathers of families ironed their suspenders and wiped the dust off their Indians, mothers collected baskets with sandwiches and Coca-Cola, children looked forward to eating ice cream until acne and diathesis developed. Unfortunately for them, in addition to the crowds of peaceful lovers of Sunday rides from all over the state, several motorcycle clubs also came to the city, including the Drunken Badasses. Thanks to the mass media, the ensuing pogroms, riots and the cancerous garlic town became known throughout America. A vague but unambiguous image of a “biker” began to form in the minds of the average person - drunk, merciless and cruel. Following the Hollister events, the film “ The Wild One” (1953) was made with the talented Marlon Brando in the title role. The film had a very strong influence on the biker movement as a whole (many convinced one-percenters later admitted that they became bikers under the influence of “ Savage ”), and at the same time many cinematic cliches grew out of it. Even the biker jacket became popular among bikers after this film.
Further more. The Monterrey “case” of the rape of two underage girls on the beach, in which the Hells Angels were involved, instantly “glorified” the bikers throughout the country as a crowd of drunken fuckers, trying to fuck in a perverted form any respectable woman who caught their eye, and without getting off their bikes. Then it turned out that the girls were drunk as hell, much older than 21, they dragged themselves to the bike club and no one raped them, but the job was done: at the sight of the “Hell’s Angels” patch, the women began to pee in horror, while at the same time experiencing a sweet craving at the bottom belly, while their husbands clenched their sphincters and fists and grabbed golf clubs.
At the same time, the future king of gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson, hung out with the Angels, ripped them off and quickly wrote the bestseller “Hell’s Angels,” which finally cemented in the eyes of the nation the image of bikers as “the lowest form of animals,” “an army of dirty, hairy rapists on motorcycles" and "modern Huns on iron horses."
Hollywood was right there: strike iron while people eat popcorn. The films were baked like pancakes, several a year - " Motor Psycho", "The Wild Angels", "Hells Angels On Wheels", "Hell's Bloody Devils", "Wild Rebels", "Devils Angels", "The Hell Cats " etc., etc., etc. The plot is usually simple to the point of disgrace - bad bikers kill, rob, rape, good people oppose them. The main characters are clearly divided into two categories - the dirty “angel of something” is disgusting, the good guy (a veteran returning from Vietnam / a simple farmer / a good policeman) is crystal clean, despite the manure dried on his shoes. At the end of the film, good triumphs over evil, otherwise it wouldn't be Hollywood. By the way, the names of the films, as well as the plot, are not very diverse - the word “angel”, “rebel”, “wheels” or “motorcycle” must be present and - almost without fail - “hell/hellish”. Happy as hell with such popularity, the Angels from the Frisco chapter, led by the smart-ass Sonny Barger, starred in Hells Angels On Wheels and Hells Angels '69 , became proud, demanded to patent the phrase "Hells Angels" and pay them a long dollar for interviews and photographs .
The only thing that dozens of biker films released in the 60s and 70s could not convey to the “ordinary people” of America was the raison d’être of outlaw. The Hells Angels and other MCs were labeled "outcasts" because they were rejected by the American Motorcycle Association, a group of "decent motorcyclists," for speeding, illegal parking and not having an inspection ticket. It was publicly said that they are only one percent among normal and careful two-wheeler drivers. But the directors and screenwriters did not say that outlaw biker is not a style of riding a motorcycle, but a lifestyle. Bikers despised the society around them, and they created their own - with their own rules and morals. It was at that moment that Sonny Barger uttered the proud phrase “It’s better to rule in hell then serve in heaven .” Not all motorcycle clubs belong to the “1%” and not all bikers sew this proud sign on their jackets, but only those who oppose everything that constitutes the institution of “society” - against civil norms, state law and bureaucratic restrictions, automatically becoming “enemies of the state number one” and criminals.
However, the mass media has great power over the pure, unclouded consciousness of the average person. In newspapers - TV - books - the movie biker is “a monster, mischievous, grinning and barking”, that is, a stinking drunken redneck with zero intelligence, a tattooed swastika, a skull on his jacket, a pistol in his belt and a dick at the ready. Accustomed to trusting the government and the press, the notorious average American believed that they were like that in life. Moreover, this image has passed through decades in its original form and is unlikely to leave the head of a resident of the town of Jackson, Wisconsin, without special effects in the form of hypnosis followed by a lobotomy. Suffice it to say that my college friend, who was born and raised in Moscow and moved to America in her twenties, responded to my request to buy me biker T-shirts on e-bay and asked in horror: “What are you, a biker?!” " It’s a pity that she didn’t ask when I last washed and how long ago I stopped drinking vodka with machine oil...
Against the backdrop of all this mass Hollywood nonsense, filmed in three days and three kopecks, the exception is the film that has become a cult not only among bikers, but also among ordinary citizens - “ Easy Rider” (1969).
Firstly, the cast is good - Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper were A-list stars at the time, and Jack Nicholson was a rising star. Secondly, an excellent script (despite the simplicity of the road movie genre) and excellent cinematography and directorial work. Thirdly, although the film is not about outlaw, it crystal clearly outlines the philosophy of bikers - freedom, road and protest against all sorts of boundaries. The heroes were killed by village gopniks, but this poetic glorification of freedom, marijuana, sex, speed and near death, as one Russian film reviewer pathetically put it, “has forever entered the hearts of rebels of all times and peoples.”
By the mid-to-late 70s, many famous one-percenters died, fell into disrepair, settled tightly in bunks, like the same Sonny Barger, or went into civilian life. Those who remained, seeing the big money swirling around the fashionable topic, tried to make money on it, forgetting about their opposition to society. It turned out badly, it didn’t bring in much money, but the dissident image of the outlaw suffered (“and it’s uncomfortable in front of the partisans...”).
Meanwhile, other problems became pressing for America, in the form of the Vietnam War, racial equality and the problem of fathers and children. Hollywood, quickly reacting to the topic of the day, tried to connect Vietnam and bikers, as in the film “ Nam Angels ” (1970), especially since Sonny Barger even wrote a pathetic letter to US President Lyndon Johnson about the desire of the “Angels” to volunteer for Vietnam ( Johnson didn't answer.) But society was fed up with the biker theme and was worried about something completely different. The wave of biker films has died down, turning into a thin stream that once every five years produces another craft.
The content of films has also changed. Now they did not describe the morals inside the clubs, and bikers simply became part of the surroundings. Horror films about bikers, melodramas about bikers, mysticism about bikers, love stories about bikers, science fiction about bikers, dystopias about bikers, cartoons about bikers et cetera appeared. Although I shouldn’t have written “about” - rather, “with”. With bikers. In non-main roles. Or in episodes. Or in the form of props. Landscape in general. Moreover, if earlier the screenwriter and director at least tried to understand what, how and about whom they were making a movie, and drew information even from publications in the press and television programs, then over time this became unnecessary. After all, you can’t go on a business trip to Alpha Centauri if you’re making a movie about aliens. Hence the wild number of mistakes about traditions, rules, hierarchy of motorcycle clubs, etc. And just common sense refuses: if there are stereotypical biker clothes, then the biker in the film will be dressed in a long-sleeved T-shirt, a short-sleeved T-shirt, leather pants, a biker jacket, “colors”, etc., although this takes place in the summer in desert of Texas. The funny thing is that new bikers began to draw information from films. A vicious circle, as in the famous joke.
Although, along with the publicity of the 60s and 70s, the wave of negative media against bikers seems to have almost passed, the attitude towards them remains the same. If the script requires boys or bad guys, then riders on “iron horses with a fire-breathing anus” are pulled out from the periphery of consciousness (a real quote from an essay about MC). In the conditions of progressive political correctness, a black man could not become the main anti-hero, but a bearded belly in a denim vest on a chrome Harley fits perfectly into the type. A guy drunk or stoned gets behind the wheel of a bike (for a minute, a one and a half liter monster weighing half a ton), starts a conversation by hitting his opponent’s head with brass knuckles, and then completely unmotivatedly kills everyone he meets, including cops, for which, by the way, democratic America, without unnecessary bazaars, sit in a chair and turn on the electricity. Moreover, a biker in films is such an absolute, infernal, ideal evil: without a home, without work, without money, but always with a full tank of gasoline, with a lot of ammunition, with drugs worth the annual GDP of Colombia and on a new shiny “tuned” bike ( To which I immediately want to ask the director - do you have any idea how much such a custom costs?). In life, such fame, however, did not bring any benefit - every village idiot tested himself for toughness and got into a fight, the police constantly took by the balls and carried out all crimes since the murder of Abel, the courts measured sentences to the fullest extent of the law, plus a little more in makeweight, and the townsfolk began to preemptively beat up bikers with their grandfather’s two-hundred-barrels, even if they just came in to buy a pack of Camel without a filter.
Among standard films, exceptions, although rare, were present - in Runnin Cool (1993) or Bolt (2002), a good biker confronts the bad oppressors of ordinary American working people, single-handedly beating them down and restoring outraged justice. Another exception was Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991). But like Easy Rider , this movie isn't about motorcycle clubs or one-percenters. This is a film about freedom, which everyone defends with the means available to them. Like a quarter of a century earlier, it was filmed on a small budget, as before, it starred stars (though rather faded, but still stars Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson), as before, the main idea was about true, unostentatious, real freedom and about victory, which in the eyes of the common man is equal to defeat. As before, it suddenly became a cult favorite among a new generation of bikers.
Speaking of Harley. For the Kharlamov-Davydov family enterprise, before the hype around the biker movement began, there were financially difficult times - in all technical aspects, HD motorcycles were inferior to Japanese ones, they were more expensive, they rode worse, sales fell “rapidly,” the market volume was shrinking like a dick in the cold and the only regular customers there were eternal antagonists - policemen and bikers. With the beginning of the hype, ideologically difficult times began. On the one hand, the image of motorcycle gangs inspired horror and awe, scaring away respectable buyers from dealerships. On the other hand, the scary, as we know, beckons and attracts, and bad PR is better than complete silence. All the more joyfully at Harley-Davidson Motor Co they greeted films where good - or not entirely bad - guys rode their products. I think that if the company paid for product placement and promotion of “ HD and the MM ,” it was relatively little: a little for the brand in the title of the film, a couple of Harleys provided for filming (Rourke rode his own bike in the film), of which one was destroyed, but the kawasaki demonstratively shot with the words “fakinbullshit” is worth a lot!
By the 90s, there were very few biker films, and those that were still made were completely crap. You can’t take seriously the love story between a careerist schoolteacher and a fat biker tattooist (“ Tattoo. A Love Story .” 2002).

The final nail in the coffin of Hollywood biker films for me personally was the comedy The Wild Hogs (2007) starring Travolta. Faggot cops, nasty but reforming bikers from a run-of-the-mill club (who also have their own big pub - well, you have to earn a cent for gas) and a tattoo in the form of a gnawed Apple apple - this film is a flirtatious cherry on top of the pile of all that crap that has been filmed since the 60s years of the last century to the present time.

But the Harley-Davidson Motor Co corporation should be happy - for once, its products are ridden not by dirty bastards, but by respectable representatives of the middle class. True, if the company paid at least 1 (one) dollar for this dull shit, then their entire PR department needs to shove the branded screaming eagle muffler up their ass, and then fire Benya’s mother - let them fart with the patented sound for free.
Although... not everything is so bad. Hell Ride” was released . And although Quentin Tarantino is only a co-producer there, and bikers are still extremely vile types, perhaps all is not completely lost for biker cinema.
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2009 © Dal