The Warlocks Motorcycle Club, also sometimes distinguished as the Phoenix Warlocks or the Florida Warlocks, is an international

outlaw motorcycle club An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker club or club (in Australia), is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of Cruiser (motorcycle), cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and chopper (motorcycle ...

that was founded in 1967 in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, United States by ex-US naval servicemen serving on the aircraft carrier . It is a " One Percenter motorcycle club" with chapters in various parts of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Established by Tom "Grub" Freeland, an ex-

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

veteran in Orlando, Florida, in 1967. The Mother Chapter is still located there. The club's founder, Tom "Grub" Freeland, died in 2019.

History

In February of 1967, thirteen sailors aboard the U.S.S. ''Shangri-La'' were on an eight month deployment with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. Among them was the future club's founder, Thomas Freeland, also known as Grub. All of them, being motorcycle enthusiasts, and discussing plans on what to do after returning home, discussed forming a motorcycle club together. One suggested the name Warlocks and one designed the Phoenix logo. They then made plans, that each of the thirteen new brothers would found a chapter in his hometown after retiring from the Navy. With most of the members, the euphoria passed very quickly after their return from service. But one brother, who took this commitment seriously enough to make this dream a reality, was Grub from Lockhart, Florida. The original chapter he founded was on the outskirts of Orlando, where the club's mother chapter remains to this day. On February 21, 1991, Raymond "Bear" Chaffin, president of the club’s Smyrna Beach, Florida chapter, was shot to death in his garage. Chaffin was in talks to merge interests with the

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in California whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells ...

down in Florida, as well as in talks with the

Boozefighters The Boozefighters Motorcycle Club (BFMC) motorcycle club was founded in California after the end of World War Two. Foundation: Wino Willie Forkner Its founder was William Clyde "Wino Willie" Forkner Jr. had served in the military during Worl ...

about patching over into the Warlocks, which would have made them one of the largest motorcycle clubs in the world at the time. The ATF would later use his funeral as an opportunity for a raid to arrest members of the club after the end of a 13 month long sting operation led by ATF agent Stephen Martin.

Global Charters

The Warlocks have chapters in four countries, most of which are active in the United States. There are fourteen chapters in Florida, seven in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, five in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, four in

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, three in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, two in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, three in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, five in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, One in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, one in Indiana , two in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, one in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, two in

(one frozen), three in

, and two in

and their growth continues. There are also several Nomads who live and work in states that don't have Warlocks chapters.

Insignia

The club's insignia is a blazing Phoenix between a top and bottom rocker, their

colors Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorpt ...

are crimson red, yellow and black. Mottos include "Our Business is None of Your Fucking Business" and "''Warlocks forever, forever Warlocks''" ("''W.F.F.W.''").

Criminal allegations and incidents

United States

The Warlocks are considered by law enforcement to be among the many second-tier, after the " Big Four", outlaw motorcycle gangs. The Warlocks have a rivalry with the Outlaws and the Pagans. The Warlocks were investigated by the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...

(ATF) in 1991, after Stephen Martin, an undercover agent, infiltrated the club. Several members were subsequently arrested and released. It was made clear by all involved outside of law enforcement that none of the illegal activities would have ever transpired without being initiated by Stephen Martin. Again, in 2003 the ATF investigated the Warlocks, and convicted several members of drug and weapon charges once more. Steven Brown known as “Steve-O” was convicted of trafficking 400 grams or more of methamphetamine by a Lexington County jury in South Carolina. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Canada

Several Warlocks bikers and associates were arrested in the small town of Drayton Valley in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

town in March 2014 on weapons charges.

References

External links

Warlocks MC International website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warlocks Motorcycle Club Organizations established in 1967 1967 establishments in Florida Organizations based in Orlando, Florida Outlaw motorcycle clubs Motorcycle clubs in the United States Gangs in Florida