Straight Satans Motorcycle Club

The Straight Satans Motorcycle Club was a "one-percenter" outlaw motorcycle gang based in Southern California. Founded in the late 1950s, it was among the earliest outlaw motorcycle clubs to emerge in the Los Angeles area. Though relatively small in size, the club gained notoriety for its association with the Manson Family during the late 1960s, particularly in the period surrounding the Tate–LaBianca murders.

History

The Straight Satans were established in July 1959 at the Webb bar in Santa Monica, California, by three bikers known as Father Bill, Little Jerry, and Glick. According to later accounts from Father Bill, the club's rapid growth and increasingly lawless behavior led him to sever ties with the organization by the early 1960s. Unlike larger outlaw motorcycle clubs such as the Hells Angels or the Mongols, the Straight Satans remained a localized group without chapters beyond their original base. Their activities were concentrated in the Los Angeles area, and they never expanded to a national or international scale. Despite their limited reach, the club developed a reputation for its rebellious culture and occasional entanglement in violent or criminal behavior.

"Mother Ruthe", also known as Ruthe Starke, was a prominent and somewhat enigmatic figure associated with the Straight Satans Motorcycle Club during its early years. Described as a matriarchal presence within the outlaw biker scene, she was not a biker herself but acted as a caretaker, confidante, and surrogate maternal figure to many club members.