The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is an outlaw motorcycle gang that DOJ describes as having more than 230 chapters in the United States and 26 foreign countries. In South Carolina, federal prosecutors documented the South Carolina Nomads (Rock Hell City Nomad) charter operating between Lexington and Rock Hill, whose June 7, 2012 indictment produced 16 convictions, with four appeals affirmed by the Fourth Circuit on February 25, 2015. Public reporting also documents a Myrtle Beach charter, clubhouses in Spartanburg and Anderson, and the Red Devils as a support club, with incidents reported through May 2026. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Origins
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club was founded in California; this background point rests on a Wikipedia summary (grade D) because no DOJ or NGIC page opened for this profile states the founding date or place. The Department of Justice Criminal Division describes the club as an outlaw motorcycle gang (OMG) with between 2,000 and 2,500 members in more than 230 chapters in the United States and 26 foreign countries, and reports a U.S. law enforcement estimate of more than 92 chapters in 27 states. The same DOJ page lists production, transportation and distribution of marijuana and methamphetamine, distribution of other drugs, and assault, extortion, homicide, money laundering and motorcycle theft among the club's criminal activity. [10][1]
Footprint in South Carolina
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina reported on March 20, 2013 that the Hells Angels South Carolina Nomads Charter operated in Lexington and Rock Hill. The June 7, 2012 indictment named the same group the Rock Hell City Nomad Chapter, and the arrestees listed that day gave hometowns that included Leesville, Lancaster, West Columbia, York, Pelion, Rock Hill, Clover and Swansea. WIS reported on September 11, 2013 that the chapter operated between Lexington and Rock Hill. [2][11][12]
In Horry County, WMBF reported on May 1, 2012 that 11 search warrants were served across Horry County and at one Georgetown County location in an operation directed at Hells Angels members. WMBF reported on May 11, 2012 that search warrant records described a clubhouse with "Hells Angels Myrtle Beach" displayed in a front window. [13][5]
Other public records place the club elsewhere in the state. A National Drug Intelligence Center assessment dated December 2001 reported Hells Angels involvement in weapons distribution and assaults on law enforcement officers in Charleston. A Joint Base Charleston commentary dated August 8, 2007 described Ladson Road as home to a regional Hells Angels headquarters. The Spartanburg Herald-Journal reported on March 10, 2011 a Hells Angels clubhouse across from WestGate Mall in Spartanburg, and FOX Carolina reported on June 23, 2025 a Hells Angels clubhouse on South McDuffie Street in Anderson. [14][15][6][7]
Structure and organization
The Fourth Circuit's February 25, 2015 opinion states that the Rock Hell City Nomad Chapter had a chapter house for local meetings, a hierarchy of leadership and membership, and required dues; members called meetings "church" and paid "tithe," and "full patch" members were senior to "prospects." The U.S. Attorney's June 19, 2013 release states that the investigation showed a hierarchical chain of command governed by written rules, and that membership was limited to white males owning an American-made motorcycle and required more than a year of association. WIS reported on June 7, 2012 that the indictment described progression from hang-around to prospect to membership by unanimous vote. [4][3][8]
Support clubs appear in the South Carolina record. The Fourth Circuit opinion lists members of the Red Devils, described as a "support group" for the Hells Angels, among those charged in the 2012 superseding indictment, and WIS reported on June 7, 2012 that the indictment stated the Red Devils paid a monthly assessment to the local Hells Angels chapter. WIS reported on April 30, 2012 that a Red Devils member intervened in a robbery at a Lexington County convenience store, and the Myrtle Beach Herald reported on March 24, 2016 that support clubs including the Red Devils and Carolina Rebels appeared at Myrtle Beach rallies. Outside South Carolina, the Eastern District of North Carolina stated on October 16, 2024 that the Red Devils are the main support club nationwide for the Hells Angels, and a June 2026 DOJ release described such support clubs as feeder clubs that recruit members into the Hells Angels. [4][8][16][17][18][19]
Identifiers and symbols
The U.S. Attorney's June 19, 2013 release states that only full members may wear the three-piece patch with the winged death head, and that members described themselves as "outlaws" or "one-percenters." WIS reported on June 7, 2012 that the indictment described the three-piece patch and the one-percenter diamond. The State reported on November 9, 2022 that one Lexington County defendant appeared on social media wearing a "1%" patch and a hat bearing "81," which the paper explained stands for H and A, the eighth and first letters of the alphabet. [3][8][20]
Notable South Carolina cases
On June 7, 2012, 19 people were arrested on a 91-count federal indictment charging members and associates of the Rock Hell City Nomad Chapter with racketeering, narcotics, Hobbs Act robbery, money laundering and firearm offenses. Agents executed 23 search warrants in North and South Carolina and seized drugs and approximately 100 firearms, including two automatic machine guns, after a two-year investigation by the South Carolina Hells Angels Task Force. The U.S. Attorney's Office stated that the investigation began in response to community concerns about outlaw motorcycle gangs in Rock Hill and developing violence between the Hells Angels and the American Outlaws Association. [11][2]
On March 20, 2013, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that a federal jury convicted charter president Mark Baker (a/k/a Lightning), David Oiler (a/k/a Gravel Dave) and Bruce Long (a/k/a Bruce-Bruce) of racketeering conspiracy, drug trafficking, money laundering and firearm offenses. The Associated Press reported on May 10, 2013 that five Rock Hill members were sentenced on federal weapons and drug charges. On June 19, 2013, Judge Cameron Currie sentenced Baker to 188 months, Oiler to 200 months and Long to 168 months; the release states that 16 members and associates were convicted and that leadership passed from Dan Bifield to Baker after members voted Bifield out as president. On February 25, 2015, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentences of Baker, Oiler, Long and co-defendant Carlos Hernandez in an unpublished per curiam opinion. The opinion records a 107-count superseding indictment against twenty individuals, including members of the Southern Gentlemen and the Red Devils, and a 262-month sentence for Hernandez. [2][21][3][4]
In Horry County, a 2012 Horry County Police Department sting directed at the Myrtle Beach chapter, reported as Operation Red Harvest, produced 226 indictments. MyHorryNews reported on August 19, 2014 that 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson dismissed more than 115 of those indictments and that charges were dropped against at least 20 of the 34 people arrested. [22][13]
On January 23, 2018, Jerry Oliver, 52, of Lexington County pleaded guilty to murder for hire in a plot against his ex-wife; the U.S. Attorney's Office stated that evidence established he was a Hells Angels member and met the FBI informant through that membership. On April 25, 2018, Judge Terry L. Wooten sentenced Oliver to the statutory maximum of 10 years in prison. [23][24]
WBTV reported on June 22, 2020 that York County deputies charged six men with strong arm robbery and criminal conspiracy after a June 11, 2020 attack at the Bear's Den Bar in Clover; one charged man was reported as president of the Rock Hill chapter, and deputies described the attack as an intimidation tactic over presumed territory. [25]
The State reported on November 9, 2022 that the Lexington County Sheriff's Department charged four men on November 8, 2022 with murder, conspiracy and seven counts of attempted murder in the October 8, 2022 shooting death of a motorcyclist on South Lake Drive near Interstate 20. The paper reported that three of the four appeared on social media in Red Devils Motorcycle Club vests and patches, and the sheriff stated that the defendants and the victim came from rival motorcycle groups. The charges are allegations; no disposition was located for this profile. [20]
Current status
FOX Carolina reported on June 23, 2025 that a wanted man ran into the Hells Angels clubhouse on South McDuffie Street in Anderson and barricaded himself inside. WSPA reported on May 4, 2026 that a man told the Horry County Police Department that four Hells Angels members used a racial slur and one punched him outside a bar on Waccamaw Boulevard; the report states that no arrests had been made. [7][9]
