The Quickshift
- In 2019, the Netherlands banned the Hells Angels
- The court ruled they violated the rule of law
- In 2022, the country's Supreme Court upheld the ruling
It's a pretty common sight for us in the United States to see motorcyclists wearing cuts from the various outlaw clubs. In nearly every state, you'll see riders supporting the Bandidos to the Mongols to the most famous, the Hells Angels. It's just a part of normal life.
But that isn't the case in the Netherlands where the latter club was outlawed from operating within the country. No, seriously, they've been barred from European state.
The club's banishment began in 2019 when a court in Utrecht found that the club posed an undue threat to public order, stating that "The violence [of the club] is often so serious and causes so much social unrest that it can be considered in contravention of social order." What's more, the 2019 ruling was against the entire club, not just an individual chapter, as had been the case prior and in other European countries.
The court's statements went further, telling the NL Times, "The worldwide Hells Angels organisation has also been banned from undertaking activities in the Netherlands," adding, "This is not about violence from one or two members of that association, but about violence that is really within the organization itself."
Its banishment, however, came after numerous clashes with police and the public at large, including knife fights, a shooting, and conflicts with other motorcycle clubs. The Netherlands had previously tried to expel the club from its borders in 2009, but lacked enough evidence to prove it was a criminal organization.
A challenge to this ruling came in 2022 and went all the way to the Netherlands' Supreme Court. The top court, however, reaffirmed the lower court's ruling and found that the prosecutors proved their case, as well as operated within the definition of free speech, thus upholding the Hells Angels' ban within the country.
According to the NL Times again, "The Appeals Court ruled that the worldwide Hells Angels organization should be considered a foreign corporation and Hells Angels Holland as an informal association under Dutch law. And the court banned these two organizations in the Netherlands."
So there you have it. The Hells Angels are banned from the Netherlands. Well, sorta.
The NL Times admits that the individual Hells Angels members can continue to ride and live within the country, but they can't wear patches, wear colors, or fly any sort of Hells Angel insignias or lest they be prosecuted. So you can still go to the Netherlands if you're a Hells Angel member, just don't wear your cut.
