The concept of Hellboy pagans refers to the portrayal of paganism in the Hellboy comic book series created by Mike Mignola. Hellboy, a half-demon who works as a paranormal investigator for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.), often encounters various mythological and supernatural entities throughout his adventures.

How a Cold War Between Rival Biker Gangs on Cape Cod Turned Red Hot

A bloody brawl last year between the Hells Angels and the Pagans was just the latest conflict in a long-simmering feud between the two criminal organizations.

Chris Hippensteel

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/Court Documents

A newly unsealed FBI search warrant reveals how a turf war between rival biker gangs in Southern Massachusetts sparked a bloody 50-man street brawl, which resulted in several gang members being stabbed and bludgeoned.

The heavily redacted warrant, which was filed by an FBI task force officer and unsealed Thursday, details how the Hells Angels motorcycle gang and their supporters came to blows with a rival club called the Pagans in May 2022 over the latter’s encroachment on their territory.

Both the Hells Angels and Pagans are well-established outlaw motorcycle gangs, with a history of crimes across the country ranging from narcotics trafficking to racketeering. They also can’t stand each other, harboring a long-simmering feud that occasionally flares up into open violence.

According to the warrant, tensions boiled over between the gangs in April 2022, as the Pagans, who were new in the region, opened a chapter in Fall River. The small city is located on the Southern Massachusetts coast near the Rhode Island border, in an area where the Hells Angels long held sway.

But the Hells Angels had been neglecting the area of late, the warrant states—they’d allowed a chapter in the area to lie dormant for over a decade.

That left room for the Pagans to expand. They quickly moved into nearby Fall River. The Hells Angels, taking notice of this encroachment, reestablished their presence in Cape Cod, putting up a sign outside their newly christened clubhouse to announce their return.

“It was apparent from this change, that the HAMC was intending to reassert its dominance in South Coastal Massachusetts,” the warrant said.

Around the same time, the Hells Angels put out a nationwide “green light” order against the Pagans, the warrant said, citing minutes recently seized from a Hells Angels meeting. The “green light” gave Hells Angels members the go-ahead to “attack on sight” any Pagans members, according to the court document.

The confrontation came soon after.

On the morning of May 14, more than 100 Hells Angels riders gathered at a rest stop in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to fuel their bikes en route to the Pagans clubhouse in Fall River. Their ranks included the Hells Angel Salem chapter, which a confidential informant told the task force is a power-player among the gang’s Massachusetts chapters, the warrant said. Local allies of the group, including the Sidewinders motorcycle gang, offered backup.

Gang members talked, bought snacks and snapped pictures for social media before embarking on a ride that would end with several people stabbed and beaten on the street.

Cameras operated by the Fall River Police Department tracked the 100-strong group of bikers as they rode to Fall River and carried out the attack. According to the document, a faction of about 40 Hells Angels broke off from the main group and rode by the Pagans’ stronghold. Pagans’ members, along with their girlfriends and wives, gathered inside and outside the clubhouse as they passed.

The Hells Angels returned a few minutes later from the opposite direction, the warrant said. This time, about 25 riders stopped their bikes, dismounted and descended on the Pagans gathered outside with knives, hammers and clubs.

“An additional dozen or more HAMC members and associates were present at the scene and provided support by blocking traffic and serving as lookouts during the attack,” the warrant said.

According to the warrant, the sidewalk outside the clubhouse became a battlefield, as the two dozen Hells Angels swarmed six or seven Pagans targets.

One Pagan member “was impaled with a dagger which was still protruding from his upper body” when police made it to the scene. Several others sustained injuries including stabbings and blunt force trauma. Several Hells Angels brandished ballpeen hammers, a signature weapon of the gang, the warrant said.

When the attack was over, “notable amounts of victims’ blood” has been splattered on both sidewalks, the sides of nearby cars and buildings, and one motorcycle visor recovered from the scene, the warrant said. The bloody melee lasted just a few minutes.

All in all, seven victims were transported to regional hospitals.

An image pulled from court documents shows a member of the Pagans motorcycle club with a knife sticking out of his arm following a bloody battle with the Hells Angels.

FBI

When it was over, the warrant said, authorities suspect the Hells Angels retreated to their reclaimed Cape Cod clubhouse. Investigators surveilling the property watched as cars and motorcycles sped away from the gated stronghold. Their drivers scattered in various directions, wearing different clothes.

“The presence of many HAMC members in Westport also suggests that weapons and other incriminating items from the crime scene could have been concealed at the clubhouse shortly after the attack,” the warrant read.

In the days following the incident, a confidential informant told investigators that the Hells Angels planned the attack “because PMC members had disrespected the HAMC,” and the latter needed to reassert their dominance.

It wasn’t Fall River’s first biker gang clash. In 2019, members of Hells Angels ally Sidewinders club engaged in a gunfight with the Outlaws motorcycle gang, The Fall River Herald News reported.

After the 2022 attack, the city of Fall River closed down the Pagans’ former club house and moved ahead with plans to revitalize the neighborhood.

In July of that year, the FBI raided multiple Hell’s Angels properties, including the reestablished club house where the gang put up a sign to advertise its return to the region.

It doesn’t appear the two groups have come to public blows since the massive Fall River brawl, but a confidential informant still cautioned the task force “that further violence against the PMC would likely follow.”

A Pagan’s biker called ‘Hellboy’ beat a Hells Angels with a baseball bat. He’s headed to prison for 4 years.

A member of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club, who goes by the street name “Hellboy,” was sentenced Monday to four years in prison for the brutal beating of a Hells Angels associate at a Newark gas station in 2018.

Robert DeRonde, 55, of Rahway, had pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault for beating the victim, Jeffrey Shank, with a baseball bat at the Exxon station on Elizabeth Avenue on April 24, 2018. Shank suffered multiple broken collar bones as a result of the beating, prosecutors said.

According to the criminal complaint, Shank had just left the Hells Angels’ clubhouse on Clinton Avenue when he stopped for gas. As Shank waited to get his gas pumped, three men pulled up to the gas station and assaulted him.

The Hells Angels clubhouse on Clinton Avenue in Newark. (Alex Napoliello | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

DeRonde, the complaint said, was driving a Ford pickup truck when he got out and hit Shank in the head with a red baseball bat. Shank was then hit by another man with a baseball bat before he was kicked and punched by a third man, the complaint said.

Surveillance video from the gas station identified the license plate registered to DeRonde’s truck. DeRonde later turned himself into police.

After the incident, the New Jersey State Police circulated a memo to authorities in the state warning them of a violent expansion of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club into North Jersey. The memo said police should remain vigilant in areas where Pagan’s and Hells Angels congregate.

In recent years, the Pagan’s have been absorbing members from smaller, independent biker clubs as a way to beef up their numbers, the memo stated. At the same time, members of the Pagan’s have started wearing motorcycle jackets — known as their “colors” — with patches that say “East Coast” instead of a local chapter location.

This is at the behest of Pagan national President Keith “Conan” Richter out of Long Island.

At DeRonde’s sentencing, Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Joseph Giordano said the four-year prison term “is designed to avoid the impression there is a cost of doing business to the activity that went on in this county."

“While it is no crime and it is not an issue for anyone wearing a Pagan’s patch or a Hells Angels patch to ride a motorcycle through the county of Essex,” he continued, “it is a problem when members associated with either of those two crews bring violence into this county in association with the organizations.”

DeRonde was previously convicted in 2013 with a felony drug charge for his role in a major Pagan’s Motorcycle Club bust out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York. The sweep resulted in the arrests of 19 Pagan associates from New York and New Jersey, some of who conspired to kill members of the Hells Angels with grenades, according to the indictment.

DeRonde’s attorney, Maximillian Novel, said at Monday’s sentencing that DeRonde has been drug-free for more than eight years and has become a “good father” to his fiancée’s children.

“We all recognize that this is not a minor offense,” Novel said. “Mr. DeRonde has accepted that responsibility.”

Shank, the victim in the case, also has a pending civil lawsuit filed against the owner of the gas station, Downtown Fuel LLC, alleging they failed to “provide safe and secure premises for their patrons.” The lawsuit is seeking an unspecified amount of damages, charging that Shank “sustained serious, permanent and disabling injuries” that have caused him “great financial detriment and loss.”

The owner of the gas station declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

Alex Napoliello may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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), often encounters various mythological and supernatural entities throughout his adventures. In the comic book series, paganism is depicted as a complex and diverse belief system that encompasses various ancient religions and mythologies. Hellboy encounters numerous beings and entities that are rooted in pagan traditions, such as fairies, giants, mythical creatures, and gods from Norse, Celtic, and Slavic mythologies.

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Deadly Pagans biker gang ‘riding streets of NYC today,’ claims ex-undercover ATF agent

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Robert "Hellboy" Deronde is a longtime Pagan from New Jersey.

The portrayal of paganism in Hellboy is often respectful and well-researched, drawing from real-world myths and legends. The comic book series incorporates elements from various pagan traditions and folklore, showcasing the rich tapestry of ancient beliefs and practices. However, it is important to note that Hellboy pagans are fictional creations within the comic book universe. While they may draw inspiration from real-world pagan beliefs, they are ultimately fictional characters and entities created for storytelling purposes. Despite this fictional portrayal, the Hellboy comic book series has gained a following among real-world pagans and mythological enthusiasts. The series' incorporation of pagan themes and mythological creatures has resonated with readers interested in exploring different belief systems and ancient lore. Overall, the depiction of Hellboy pagans in the comic book series is an example of how mythology and folklore can be used creatively in storytelling. By incorporating elements from various pagan traditions, the series offers readers a glimpse into the fascinating world of ancient myths and beliefs..

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