Democracy Dies in Darkness

Sonny Barger, biker outlaw and founder of Hells Angels, dies at 83

For decades, he was the public face of a nationwide counterculture tribe of bearded, denim-clad road warriors memorialized in literature and film

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Hells Angels chieftain Ralph "Sonny" Barger and his then-wife Sharon are shown after his release on $100,000 bond in San Francisco in 1980. He had spent more than a year in jail on federal racketeering conspiracy charges. (Robert H Houston/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Sonny Barger, the bigger-than-life godfather of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, equal parts brawler, bully, braggart, rule breaker and shrewd huckster of his own outlaw mystique, died June 29 at his home in Livermore, Calif. He was 83.

A statement on his official Facebook page 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.” His former lawyer, Fritz Clapp, confirmed the death and said the cause was liver cancer.