BIG RED MACHINE

THE HISTORY The Angels of Death Motorcycle Club (AoDMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club - also known as 1%ers. Founded on March 17, 1948, in Fontana, San Andreas, where multiple smaller local motorcycle clubs merged. Francis Oldman (aka Fingers), a veteran of World War II, is often given the honor of being credited with starting the club after breaking from the Pissed Off Bastards motorcycle club after a conflict between another rival club. A handful of the founding members suggested the club's name, derived from their former WWII flying squadron's nickname the "Death Angels". In 1930, the Howard Hughes film The Angels of Death showcased extraordinary and dangerous feats of aviation, and it is believed that World War II groups that used that name based it on the film. Much of the early history of the AoDMC is unclear. Decades of parties, drugs, delinquency and total disregard for the opinions of others have clouded & hidden some of the adventures and stories of the past. It is said, however, that most of the rumors of the early days are true. According to Charles "Sonny" Robertson, founder of the Oakland charter, the earliest charters of the club were founded in San Fierro, Red County, Chumash, Oakland and elsewhere, with the members usually unaware that there were other clubs sharing the same name. Other sources claim that the San Fierro Angels of Death were organized in 1953 by Rocky Paterson, and Angels of Death member from San Chianski ("SanChi"), implying that the "Fierro" Angels of Death were very much aware of their forebear clubs throughout the state. The "Fierro" Angels of Death were reorganized in 1955 with 13 charter members, Joey Davis serving as President, and the smaller, original logo. The Oakland charter, at the time headed by Robertson, used a larger version of the "Flaming Reaper" patch which was first used in 1959. The Angels of Death are often depicted in semi-mythical romantic fashion like the 19th-century James–Younger Gang: free-spirited, iconic, bound by brotherhood and loyalty. At other times, such as in the 1966 Roger Corman film The Wild Angels, they are depicted as violent and nihilistic, little more than a violent criminal gang and a scourge on society. The club became prominent within, and established its notoriety as part of, the 1960s counterculture movement in San Fierro's Hashbury District, playing a part at many of the movement's seminal events. Members were directly connected to many of the counterculture's primary leaders, such as Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, Allen Ginsberg, Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, Timothy Leary, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Mick Farren, and Tom Wolfe. "Gonzo" journalist Hunter S. Thompson's book about the club launched his career. From 1968 to 1969 the Angels of Death of San Fierro headquarters was at 715 Hashbury (across from the Grateful Dead house at 710 Hashbury). Over the years, the club has grown to a membership between 3,000 and 3,600 members across 467 chapters in 59 countries. With statistics like these, it's hard to deny that the AoDMC is the largest motorcycle club in the world. Many police and international intelligence agencies, including the United States Department of Justice and Europol, consider the club an organized crime syndicate. Common nicknames for the club are the "A.o.D", "Red & White", "AoDMC", and "14". How the Angels of Death became an international criminal organization is a real chicken-and-egg question. While there's no doubt that the club's activities were pretty sketchy from the very beginning, in the early years, this was mainly small-time stuff pursued by individual members. The structure of the Hells Angels is a confederacy of individual chapters — they're all under the umbrella of the Angels of Death, but they're independent, at least in theory, so even if one chapter was engaged in criminal activity, it couldn't be blamed on the entire organization. ANGELS OF DEATH, A CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION In contrast to other prominent motorcycle clubs in the United States, the Angels of Death organization is not headed by a national or international president; it is instead governed by regional officers, who are each chosen to represent a collective of localized chapters at monthly regional meetings. Although the club has no official "mother chapter", the Oakland, San Andreas faction has traditionally been able to maintain a preeminent position as "first among equals" because it has the largest membership of any U.S. chapter and because of former Oakland chapter president Sonny Robertson's esteem among club members internationally. The Angels of Death's prior de facto "mother chapter" was the original San Chianski chapter, which was led by Francis Oldman until the late 1950s. In 1958, Robertson assumed leadership and moved the club's headquarters to Oakland. Numerous police and international intelligence agencies classify the Angels of Death Motorcycle Club 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. A BRIEF LOOK AT AoD 1% MC IN SAN ANDREAS STEPPING UP IN THE WORLD: Any global brand needs a presence in Los Santos to be taken seriously - that's why every luxury label in the universe has a store in Rockford Mall. The Angels of Death are, above all else these days, a brand, so their iconic clubhouse in Chumash was an essential part of their marketing and identity. Purchased in 1969, the Clubhouse has been a controversial part of the neighborhood for years, with some residents regarding the Angels as a colorful part of the authentic So-San experience and others despising the bikers for the way they illegally hogged parking spots and intimidated anyone who complained. LAW ENFORCEMENT RAIDS & EVICTIONS: The authorities also put a lot of energy into trying to shut down the Clubhouse... or at least get inside for a good search. According to Weasel News, the FBI first raided the place in 1985, and the city tried to evict the Angels in 1994. None of those strategies worked, but the Club's sudden departure in 2019 after 50 years of tough resistance is symbolic of their decline. Adding insult to injury, they moved to a less expensive spot in Vespucci, but as CNT News Los Santos reports, their new neighbors aren't excited to see them - especially after a gunfight broke out there just a few weeks into their tenancy. RETALIATION & MURDER: College student David Johnson was shot five times in the head at point-blank range with a .22 caliber handgun fitted with a silencer in the parking lot of his apartment building on December 14, 1975. Law enforcement sources stated that Johnson was murdered by the former President of the Dago (San Diego) Angels of Death charter in retaliation for him killing an Angels of Death member in a car crash on July 3, 1975. CONFLICT WITH RIVAL CLUBS: In September 1994, near Vinewood at the Vinewood Speedway drag races, there was a clash between the Angels of Death and a rival biker gang resulting in two deaths, and multiple injuries. As recently as 2022 in fact, two high-ranking members of the Outlaws were recently hit with Federal charges for allegedly beating a man they thought was aligned with the Angels of Death. Reports circulating in June 2023 claimed that the same Outlaws gang was expanding its base of operations to Los Santos as well, despite 20 members being arrested and pleading guilty to racketeering charges. And a biker brawl in Las Venturas involving dozens of people left seven people injured later in May. It took place at one of the gangs' clubhouses. Other acts of extreme violence and brutality to rivals are reminders that the gang is both ruthless and here to stay. VIOLENT ASSAULT & GREIVOUS BODILY HARM: On January 28 2007, a woman named Shaniqua DeAndre was found badly beaten on the sidewalk outside the Angels of Death's clubhouse in Chumash, Los Santos. The resulting investigation by the LSPD has been criticized by the group for its intensity. The police were refused access to the Angels of Death clubhouse and responded by closing off the area, setting up sniper positions, and sending in an armored personnel carrier. After obtaining a warrant, the police searched the clubhouse and arrested one Angel of Death who was later released. The group claims to have no connection with the beating of DeAndre. Five security cameras cover the entrance to the So-San charter's club house, but the LS AoDMC maintains nobody knows how DeAndre was beaten nearly to death at their front door. A club lawyer said they intended to sue the city for false arrest and possible civil rights violations. SUPPORTYOURLOCALBIGREDMACHINESANANDREAS WHAT IS OUR AIM? It is our aim to create a realistic and enjoyable outlaw 1%er Motorcycle Club role-play environment, more specifically, a portrayal of the Hells Angels MC's SoCal (and former Venice) charter. We understand that there are legal implications with using the registered trademark names, logos, and other affiliated items to do with the real life HAMC. As a result of this, we have been forced to choose another name and logo, while adopting the background, lore, history, club politics, and culture of the Hells Angels MC. It has been agreed between GTA:W Management, IFM, and the server's MC community that there is no HAMC in the server's continuity, and as such, has been replaced 1:1 with the Angels of Death MC. ANGELS OF DEATH MC and the ANGELS OF DEATH logo have been adopted here and draw inspiration from the real life HAMC, and full credit and respect is given to the club. Although we draw inspiration from here, we do not claim to be (and never will claim to be) affiliated in any way, shape or form with the real life HAMC organization, nor do we claim any sort of ownership to their registered trademarks. We make maximum effort to ensure that there is clear distinction between us, however let it be known that the scenes, depictions, edited photographs and opinions associated with this faction on GTA World are not necessarily the opinions of the real-life Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. All recruitment is entirely in-character and is to be done ingame. If you have any concerns, questions, queries or doubtful points, please contact us at @BIG RED MACHINE. SUPPORTYOURLOCALBIGREDMACHINESANANDREAS SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL RED & WHITE