Who are the Hells Angels, Lethbridge’s newest gang?

By Justin Sibbet, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It has recently become common knowledge the Hells Angels have arrived in Lethbridge, bringing mixed reviews along with them.

Some on social media have said they are eager to see the outlaw biker gang on the streets of the city, but others have shared a less positive outlook.

Mike Tucker, a spokesperson for ALERT, says people need to understand the Hells Angels are not like the “Sons of Anarchy”.

“This isn’t a TV show, this is real life,” said Tucker. “It looks a lot different.”

He says this is the first time the Hells Angels have opened a charter in Lethbridge, but the organization has deep roots in the area already.

“They have an extensive network of support clubs that are usually smaller, rural populations throughout Alberta,” said Tucker. “Support clubs’ kind of carry out the dirty work for the Hells Angels, which are the larger clubs.”

Furthermore, he says the gang openly flaunts its “one per cent” patches, which indicate they are of the one per cent of motorcyclists who “don’t conform to the rules and laws of society.”

“They are a criminal organization under Canadian law,” said Tucker.

For those who claim the Hells Angels are ‘the good guys’ for offering charity drives, Tucker says they are being misled.

“When they’re coming into Lethbridge and coming into a new territory, they’re going to do extensive (public relations) work to try to build support,” said Tucker. “So, yes, you’re going to see toy drives, poker rallies or whatever it is they do to try to endear themselves to the community, but that’s masking the societal harms that they’re inflicting upon that community.”

He says ALERT is fully aware of the crimes being committed by members of the Hells Angels throughout Alberta, which tend to include violence and drugs.

“ALERT has an extensive history of conducting Hells Angels investigations for a wide range of criminal activities.”

He also says the charitable events are a front for financing these criminal activities.

“A lot of this purported charity work that they’re doing, and you know, selling merchandise, that’s money that is going back to their criminal defence fund.”

Tucker says anyone buying from, and wearing, “Support 81” merchandise is “openly supporting a criminal organization.” He says prospective purchasers should think twice before buying gear from the gang.

“There are consequences for someone who wears (Hells Angels or Support 81 gear). In Alberta, there’s legislation under (section 69.1(1) of the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act) that you could be ejected from a bar or a licenced premises,” said Tucker. “And it could potentially put a target on yourself from other rival criminal organizations.”

Another negative aspect of the Hells Angels, according to Tucker, is the drug trafficking they bring into their claimed territory.

“Much has been made about they fentanyl crisis and in the early days of when we were seeing opioid abuse taking place across the province, it was directly tied to the bikers and their distribution of fentanyl in communities big and small.”

The outlaw gang was first established in California in 1948, according to a Hells Angels website. Today, the “Hells Angels Motorcycle Club” have 475 charters across the world

Tucker says the Hells Angels thrive off a visual presence, which is in contrast to many organized criminal groups.

“If you’re seeing bikers and you’re seeing the “death head” on the roadways and at festivals and bars, it doesn’t mean you’re in immediate danger, but it is their way of trying to exert control and influence over that community.”