Hells Angels not travelling to Colorado to fight Venezuelan crime ring

The Hells Angels have not dispatched members to the US state of Colorado to combat a Venezuelan crime syndicate operating in the city of Aurora. The motorcycle club refuted such claims -- circulating online, using old video footage -- that they were travelling to Aurora, and local police said the posts were "not credible."

"Hells Angels and Mongols heading to Colorado to deal with the Venezuelan gang members!! ," says the caption of one September 1, 2024 post on TikTok with almost 900,000 views.

The same claim has circulated on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Reddit and Gettr-- including in Spanish.

The claims followed an August 30 Facebook post from Aurora mayor Mike Coffman, who said the city government would take legal action to shut apartment complexes over reports of Venezuelan gang activity (archived here).

The story was picked up by national media who aired what analysis shows is an old video showing people entering apartments with handguns and other weapons, linking them to Tren de Aragua (TdA), a transnational criminal organization engaged in illegal activities including human trafficking and money laundering.

It was further amplified by former president Donald Trump who during the presidential debate said Aurora was facing violence from migrants.

"You look at Aurora in Colorado. They are taking over the towns. They're taking over buildings. They're going in violently," Trump said on September 10.

But residents of the apartment complex have pushed back against claims that gangs had taken over the buildings.

And Coffman issued a joint statement with city officials to address the presence of Tren de Aragua in the region, saying: "TdA has not 'taken over' the city. The overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true. Again, TdA's presence in Aurora is limited to specific properties, all of which the city has been addressing in various ways for months." (archived here) 

Aurora Police have arrested 10 known members of the Venezuelan gang (archived here) while also stating the department believes "reports of TdA influence in Aurora are isolated" (archived here).

The claims that motorcycle gangs are headed to the city to oppose Tren de Aragua are also false.

'Irresponsible narrative'

The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) branch in Rockford, Illinois, posted a statement on Facebook that called the claims a "lie" and said they "perpetuate a false and irresponsible narrative about the HAMC for the sole purpose of driving traffic and clicks." (archived here)

"The HAMC strongly denies the foundation and validity of these absolutely ridiculous and false claims," the statement says. "The HAMC does not involve itself in political issues outside of motorcycling and takes no stance on the issue of immigration or the presidential election."

Local media and other fact-checking organizations reported the Hells Angels Rocky Mountain chapter -- which covers much of Colorado -- posted the same statement on Instagram. However, it is no longer available on the chapter's profile (archived here).

Aurora police department spokesman Matthew Longshore also told AFP in a September 12 email the department believes the claims about the Hells Angels and other motorcycle gangs arriving in the city are "not credible."

The US Department of Justice has previously implicated the Hells Angels in multiple criminal enterprises, including murder, drug manufacturing and illegal weapons trafficking. In June 2024, federal agents arrested a six-member California chapter of the motorcycle gang on kidnapping and robbery charges. (archived here)

Unrelated footage

The social media accounts spreading the false claims use several different videos, supposedly showing Hells Angels members travelling to Aurora.

A keyframe search of one clip reveals it comes from a video posted in March 2017 of another motorcycle club called the Mongols -- which has also been connected to multiple criminal conspiracies -- at one of its annual events (archived here, here and here).

Another video posted online includes the name of a TikTok account that originally shared the video in November 2022 (archived here). It later clarified that the clip was filmed at a charity event (archived here).

A third post on TikTok uses a compilation of footage that traced back to two videos posted more than 10 years ago by the Mongol Motorcycle Club (archived here and here).

AFP has debunked other false and misleading claims about the 2024 election here.