Legendary motorcyclist, leader, and former delinquent Sonny Barger passed away on June 29th at age 83. His lawyer said the passing was due to liver cancer and that he died peacefully at his home in Livermore, California.
His death was announced through a Facebook post saying: “If you are reading this message, you’ll know that I’m gone. I’ve lived a long and good life filled with adventure. And I’ve had the privilege to be part of an amazing club.” On Barger’s timeline, many years are enveloped with memories of times shared between brothers and glorious outlaw experiences. The most important, of course, was creating his own club.
The Oakland Hells Angels was founded on April 1, 1957, and although the date is known for fooling around, the Angels were no joke. Oakland Hells Angels was a motorcycle club that would later become one of many charters within a larger motorcycle organization known as ‘Hells Angels’. They were notorious for their violent, organized crimes and faced countless federal investigations on criminal enterprise and racketeering offenses. In 2013, authorities obtained convictions against 16 members of the club in South Carolina for a conspiracy involving drug distribution, gunrunning, money laundering, and arson.
Barger didn’t escape charges of his own either. In 1970, he was arrested for narcotics dealing after Donald Howarth, a film studio property manager, was caught walking toward his home with 17 ounces of cocaine and 30 ounces of heroin. He and four others were also charged in 1972 with attempted murder, kidnapping, and assault with a deadly weapon after they were caught driving through a park with two club members bound, gagged, and beaten in the trunk of their vehicle.
His most famous crisis, however, is probably the 1969 Rolling Stones concert where members of Hells Angels beat and stabbed to death an 18-year-old who was carrying a gun. The rock band originally hired the Angels for security, yet, chaos ensued and countless charges were filed that night.
Although Barger’s life was chaotic and quite detrimental, many look up to him and respect him as one of the most memorable outlaws to have walked the Earth. He may have done some debatable things throughout his life, but he was brave, endearing, proud, and had philosophies of his own. In his book “Hells Angels: A Strange And Terrible Saga”, author Hunter Thompson described Barger as a “maximum leader,” a fighter and philosopher who possessed “a steely, thoughtful quality.” The man himself also admitted to living by a few mottos, “I treat everyone exactly the way I want to be treated. If they treat me good, I treat them better. If they treat me bad, I treat ‘em worse.”
He left a final note before leaving, “Please know that I passed peacefully after a brief battle with cancer. But also know that in the end, I was surrounded by what really matters: My wife, Zorana, as well as my loved ones. Keep your head up high, stay loyal, remain free, and always value honor.”
Sources:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1656879308411x864568959391319300/Sonny%20Barger%2C%20biker%20outlaw%20and%20founder%20of%20Hells%20Angels%2C%20dies%20at%2083%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Barger
https://www.yahoo.com/video/sonny-barger-counterculture-force-face-235417141.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIdXpf-t6Ac56D_JSvwh-tGI5myqERaFv26KiEMxPJOZRyfvzR6BoK-TWiXXmFSQoHeE4yUjZTe_sK-HVlcT-fysWl4Yq1nt9xJAoCaE6aRa3Vx3syDPFwKbEuSK60kari47qBgZfL-kk9mWdDWH6nT4uMwBTxOb8knLUN5eQmH8
https://hells-angels.com/our-club/history/
His death was announced through a Facebook post saying: “If you are reading this message, you’ll know that I’m gone. I’ve lived a long and good life filled with adventure. And I’ve had the privilege to be part of an amazing club.” On Barger’s timeline, many years are enveloped with memories of times shared between brothers and glorious outlaw experiences. The most important, of course, was creating his own club.
The Oakland Hells Angels was founded on April 1, 1957, and although the date is known for fooling around, the Angels were no joke. Oakland Hells Angels was a motorcycle club that would later become one of many charters within a larger motorcycle organization known as ‘Hells Angels’. They were notorious for their violent, organized crimes and faced countless federal investigations on criminal enterprise and racketeering offenses. In 2013, authorities obtained convictions against 16 members of the club in South Carolina for a conspiracy involving drug distribution, gunrunning, money laundering, and arson.
Barger didn’t escape charges of his own either. In 1970, he was arrested for narcotics dealing after Donald Howarth, a film studio property manager, was caught walking toward his home with 17 ounces of cocaine and 30 ounces of heroin. He and four others were also charged in 1972 with attempted murder, kidnapping, and assault with a deadly weapon after they were caught driving through a park with two club members bound, gagged, and beaten in the trunk of their vehicle.
His most famous crisis, however, is probably the 1969 Rolling Stones concert where members of Hells Angels beat and stabbed to death an 18-year-old who was carrying a gun. The rock band originally hired the Angels for security, yet, chaos ensued and countless charges were filed that night.
Although Barger’s life was chaotic and quite detrimental, many look up to him and respect him as one of the most memorable outlaws to have walked the Earth. He may have done some debatable things throughout his life, but he was brave, endearing, proud, and had philosophies of his own. In his book “Hells Angels: A Strange And Terrible Saga”, author Hunter Thompson described Barger as a “maximum leader,” a fighter and philosopher who possessed “a steely, thoughtful quality.” The man himself also admitted to living by a few mottos, “I treat everyone exactly the way I want to be treated. If they treat me good, I treat them better. If they treat me bad, I treat ‘em worse.”
He left a final note before leaving, “Please know that I passed peacefully after a brief battle with cancer. But also know that in the end, I was surrounded by what really matters: My wife, Zorana, as well as my loved ones. Keep your head up high, stay loyal, remain free, and always value honor.”
Sources:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1656879308411x864568959391319300/Sonny%20Barger%2C%20biker%20outlaw%20and%20founder%20of%20Hells%20Angels%2C%20dies%20at%2083%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Barger
https://www.yahoo.com/video/sonny-barger-counterculture-force-face-235417141.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIdXpf-t6Ac56D_JSvwh-tGI5myqERaFv26KiEMxPJOZRyfvzR6BoK-TWiXXmFSQoHeE4yUjZTe_sK-HVlcT-fysWl4Yq1nt9xJAoCaE6aRa3Vx3syDPFwKbEuSK60kari47qBgZfL-kk9mWdDWH6nT4uMwBTxOb8knLUN5eQmH8
https://hells-angels.com/our-club/history/
