But Sunday's bloody confrontation in Waco, Texas, is a jolting reminder that some motorcycle gangs are still a violent force in some parts of the country. The Department of Justice has identified seven motorcycle clubs that it believes are highly structured criminal enterprises, many of them allied in one form or another against the best-known gang, the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.

A Justice Department report classifies such organizations as outlaw motorcycle gangs, and federal law enforcement authorities are focused on their alleged drug activity and possible connections to Mexican cartels. The Southern California-centered Mongols Motorcycle Club has earned a reputation for violence since taking Los Angeles area turf from the Hells Angels, according to the Justice Department.

The Mongols have allied themselves with the Bandidos, Outlaws, Sons of Silence and the Pagans to compete for territory and members with the Hells Angels, the report says. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says it considers the Mongols the most violent motorcycle club. Photos of the Bandidos motorcycle gang are shown here. The member Bandidos Motorcycle Club is one of the two largest operating in the U.

The Bandidos are centered in the West and South. Such members wear the colors and patches of a small local club but do the "dirty work" of the larger "mother club," the government said.

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The smaller clubs can eventually become a new chapter of the larger club, in this case, the Bandidos. Photos of the Outlaws Motorcycle club are shown here.

The Outlaws Motorcycle Club has members in 86 chapters and is centered in the upper Midwest, where they compete with Hells Angels for members. Some Outlaws chapter members have been accused of murder and kidnapping, and federal authorities say they believe much of the club's money is generated through the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine.

Photos of the Hells Angels Motorcycle club shown here. The best known motorcycle club may no longer be the largest. The Hells Angels has members and the Justice Department says it suspects that some members are leading extortion rings, committing murders and moving drugs.

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The emblem of the Pagans Motorcycle club is shown here. Primarily concerned with trafficking cocaine, methamphetamine and PCP, the smaller Pagans Motorcycle Club has to members who operate in 11 Mid-Atlantic states, according to the Justice Department.

The Pagans are tied to criminal enterprises in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and are connected to extortion rings, arson and murder, the government says.

The emblem of the Sons of Silence Motorcycle club is shown here. Centered in the Midwest, the Sons of Silence are small but have a reputation for violence, according to the Justice Department. Numbering fewer than , the Sons of Silence have chapters in 30 states, and are dangerous enough that the Justice Department named them to its four motorcycle clubs of greatest concern.

The emblem of the Vagos Motorcycle club is shown here. Operating on both sides of the U. Primarily concerned with the production and distribution of methamphetamine, Vagos members have also been charged with money laundering and insurance fraud, as well as more violent crimes, the Justice Department says.

The Twin Peaks restaurant was the scene of a motorcyle gang shootout that left nine dead. The Cossacks gang was among as many as five gangs involved. Though less is known about the Cossacks, one of the groups connected with Sunday's violence in Waco, they have a history with the Bandidos dating to at least Five men were injured. A grand jury later indicted two men on suspicion of assault.

One of them was the leader of the Bandidos. By Nigel Duara Contact Reporter. Mongols motorcycle club members are shown here. Department of Justice The Southern California-centered Mongols Motorcycle Club has earned a reputation for violence since taking Los Angeles area turf from the Hells Angels, according to the Justice Department.