Hundreds of Hells Angels gathering in SC college town

Members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang wear gear with the club’s logo and read “Latvia” (front) as they arrive for a funeral in Ransbach-Baumbach, western Germany on August 8, 2013. (Photo: Thomas Frey, AFP/Getty Images)

Members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang wear gear with the club's logo and read "Latvia" (front) as they arrive for a funeral in Ransbach-Baumbach, western Germany on August 8, 2013. (Photo: Thomas Frey, AFP/Getty Images)

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Police are preparing for hundreds of Hells Angels to descend on a South Carolina college town next week for their national gathering.

The Greenville News reports that an estimated 600 to 700 members of the motorcycle club are expected to ride into Clemson between Monday and Friday.

Clemson Police Chief Jimmy Dixon says residents will notice more law officers downtown and throughout the city beginning Monday.

The U.S. Department of Justice classifies the Hells Angels as an “outlaw motorcycle gang” and said the group is involved in drug dealing and other criminal activity.

But Kade Herrick, tourism director for the Clemson Area Chamber of Commerce, says the gathering “is almost like a family reunion for them.” Herrick says he does not have concerns about the bikers coming to Clemson.