Hells Angels not traveling to Colorado to fight Venezuelan crime ring

The Hells Angels have not sent members to the U.S. state of Colorado to fight a Venezuelan crime syndicate operating in the city of Aurora. The motorcycle club denied claims – which are circulating online and use old video footage – that they would travel to Aurora, and local police said the posts were “not credible.”

“Hells Angels and Mongols heading to Colorado to take care of Venezuelan gang members!!,” reads the caption of a post from September 1, 2024 Post on TikTok with almost 900,000 views.

The same claim was circulating To TikTok, on facebook., Instagram, Topics, X, Reddit And Gettr— including in Spanish.

The claims followwith a Facebook post from August 30 by Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, who said The city government would take legal action to close apartment complexes based on reports of Venezuelan gang activity (archived here).

The story was picked up by the national media, which broadcast, what analysis shows is an old videoO shows people breaking into homes with handguns and other weapons and links them to Tren de Aragua (TdA), a transnational criminal organization involved in illegal activities, including human trafficking and money laundering.

Former President Donald Trump reinforced this statement when he said during the presidential debate that Aurora was facing violence from migrants.

“Look at Aurora, Colorado. They're taking over the cities. They're taking over buildings. They're forcibly entering,” Trump said on September 10.

But the residents of thThe apartment complex denied claims that gangs had taken over the buildings.

And Coffman issued a joint statement with city officials addressing the Tren de Aragua's presence in the area: “TdA has not 'taken over' the city. The exaggerated claims being fueled on social media and by select news outlets are simply not true. Again, TdA's presence in Aurora is limited to certain properties that the city has been grappling with in various ways for months.” (archived here)

Aurora police have arrested 10 known members of the Venezuelan gang (archived here), while stating that the department believes “reports of TdA influence in Aurora are isolated.” (archived here).

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

“Irresponsible narrative”

The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) in Rockford, Illinois, released a Statement on Facebook who called the claims a “lie” and said they “spread a false and irresponsible narrative about the HAMC with the sole aim of driving traffic and clicks.” (archived Here)

“The HAMC strongly denies the basis and validity of these absolutely ridiculous and false allegations,” said the The statement said: “The HAMC does not get involved in political issues outside of motorcycle racing and does not take a position on immigration issues or the presidential election.”

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

Aurora Police Department spokesman Matthew Longshore told AFP in a Sept. 12 email that the department found claims about the arrival of the Hells Angels and other motorcycle gangs in the city “not credible.”

The US Department of Justice has previously involved The Hells Angels are involved in numerous criminal activities, including murder, drug production and illegal arms trafficking. In June 2024, federal agents arrested a six-member California branch of the motorcycle gang charged with kidnapping and robbery. (archived Here)

Independent footage

The social media accounts spreading the false claims use several different Videos allegedly showing members of the Hells Angels on their trip to Aurora.

A Keyframe search from a Pruning reveals that it is from a video posted in March 2017 by another motorcycle club called the Mongols — This was also tied together To several 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 was later clarified that the clip was filmed at a charity event (archived here).

A third post on TikTok uses a compilation of footage dating back to two Videos published more than 10 years ago by the Mongol Motorcycle Club (archived Here And Here).

AFP has debunked further false and misleading claims about the 2024 elections Here.