Sonny Barger, a well-known bike outlaw and rule breaker, was confirmed dead from liver cancer at the age of 83 by his former lawyer, Fritz Clapp.
The statement of his death was released on his Facebook page. It read “If you are reading this message, you’ll know that I’m gone. I’ve asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing.”
Barger joined his first biker club in 1956, known as the Oakland Panthers. Soon leaving the club to form his own. He would eventually make the Hells Angels the next year. “I needed a close-knit club of men who could jump on their bikes, ride cross-country if they wanted to, and not abide by rules or clocks,” he said.
He became the face of the now-well-known Hells Angels, a counterculture club of road warriors and motorcyclists.
Over the next few decades, he would successfully garner thousands of members across the U.S, Canada, Europe and elsewhere. Even though the club had gotten into numerous conflicts with the law, they were still able to sustain themselves financially.
The Hells Angels, including Barger, often faced federal charges for criminal activity. According to an article found in the Washington Post, Paul W. Valentine, a journalist, states “in 2013, authorities obtained convictions against 16 members and hangers-on in South Carolina for a conspiracy involving drug distribution, gunrunning, money laundering and arson.”
He would document his dangerous and exhilarating experiences in the books he wrote over the years including “Dead in 5 Heartbeats” (2003), “6 Chambers, 1 Bullet” (2006) and his autobiography “Hell’s Angel — The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club” (2001).
Barger was a beloved and restless personality. He constantly sought the open road, for crime or for adventure. “Discover your limits by exceeding them,” Mr. Barger always urged.
Link to article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/06/30/sonny-barger-hells-angels-dead/
The statement of his death was released on his Facebook page. It read “If you are reading this message, you’ll know that I’m gone. I’ve asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing.”
Barger joined his first biker club in 1956, known as the Oakland Panthers. Soon leaving the club to form his own. He would eventually make the Hells Angels the next year. “I needed a close-knit club of men who could jump on their bikes, ride cross-country if they wanted to, and not abide by rules or clocks,” he said.
He became the face of the now-well-known Hells Angels, a counterculture club of road warriors and motorcyclists.
Over the next few decades, he would successfully garner thousands of members across the U.S, Canada, Europe and elsewhere. Even though the club had gotten into numerous conflicts with the law, they were still able to sustain themselves financially.
The Hells Angels, including Barger, often faced federal charges for criminal activity. According to an article found in the Washington Post, Paul W. Valentine, a journalist, states “in 2013, authorities obtained convictions against 16 members and hangers-on in South Carolina for a conspiracy involving drug distribution, gunrunning, money laundering and arson.”
He would document his dangerous and exhilarating experiences in the books he wrote over the years including “Dead in 5 Heartbeats” (2003), “6 Chambers, 1 Bullet” (2006) and his autobiography “Hell’s Angel — The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club” (2001).
Barger was a beloved and restless personality. He constantly sought the open road, for crime or for adventure. “Discover your limits by exceeding them,” Mr. Barger always urged.
Link to article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/06/30/sonny-barger-hells-angels-dead/
