Nearly a decade ago, video of riders from California’s Mongols Motorcycle Club was falsely characterized as members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club on their way to Aurora, Colorado, where unconfirmed rumors suggested a gang had taken over apartments in August.
A video shared online shows dozens of cyclists heading toward an underpass near a gas station, dated Aug. 31, with the caption “Outlaws are going to all branches of HellsAngels,” without mentioning a destination.
One post shared the video with the unconfirmed caption: “All (81) HellsAngels reportedly heading to Aurora to settle #GANGWAR.”
However, this clip is from a longer video uploaded to YouTube on July 10, 2015 , titled “Mongols in the Pass” and described as “500 bikes rolling down Eastern Highway to Laughlin.”
Several riders in the film wear clothing bearing the group’s distinctive logo, which includes the words “Mongol” and “California”.
Google Street View imagery shows the video was filmed at a former Shell gas station on Highland Springs Boulevard in Beaumont, California.
Aurora Police Department public information officer Sydney Edwards said in a Sept. 4 email to Askume that there was no evidence to support the claim that Hells Angels members had arrived in Aurora.
The false video came after another video of alleged gang violence was shared on social media, sparking unfounded rumors that a Venezuelan gang had taken over an Aurora apartment.
Edwards said police are still investigating the viral video and have confiscated the gun seen in the video. He also shared interim Police Chief Heather Morris’ August 31 public statement that gang members live in the neighborhood but have not yet taken over the premises.
cataclysm
Misunderstood. The video, which dates to 2015, shows motorcyclists in California wearing Mongols Motorcycle Club gear instead of Hells Angels motorcyclists heading to Aurora, Colorado in 2024.
This article was written by the Askume fact-checking team. Learn more about our fact-checking efforts .
