The Claimers

"When men like us follow rules and cooperate a little bit, well, the world becomes ours."

- Joe to Daryl about his group's rules.



"The Claimers", as called by Greg Nicotero, are a group of survivors introduced in the episode "Claimed" of Season 4 of AMC's The Walking Dead. They encounter Rick Grimes in a house, and eventually come across Daryl Dixon, as well, who ends up joining them. They are the primary antagonists of the second half of the fourth season.

Pre-Apocalypse
Nothing is known about the life of Joe's group members before the zombie apocalypse. It's possible that they all knew each other before the apocalypse.

Post-Apocalypse
Some time after the outbreak, Joe began to use violence against others as a means to survive. Taking things from other survivors is easier for him than finding things on his own. Despite this, once Joe realizes that sharing among his men creates difficult conflicts, he creates rules for him and the rest of his group to follow; thus beginning the act of claiming goods.

The group unknowingly crosses paths with Rick Grimes as they raid a house where Rick, Carl, and Michonne had been staying. Rick hides underneath a bed as the Claimers search the house. Tony and Len fight over the bed, and Rick is spotted by Tony, but Tony is choked unconscious by Len before he could say anything. Rick attempts to escape through the bathroom but runs into Lou. Rick strangles and kills Lou and leaves him to turn, while escaping with Carl and Michonne outside. Once Joe's group finds out that Lou was killed, they begin tracking Rick. Along the way, they find Daryl Dixon sitting on the road. After a brief confrontation, Daryl agrees to join them. Len and Daryl did not get along, which eventually led to Len being killed by the other Claimers for being dishonest.

The Claimers eventually catch Rick, Carl, and Michonne on an abandoned road. Daryl attempts to stop Joe from killing them, saying that they are good people. Joe determines that that was a lie and tells the Claimers to beat him to death. He then tells Rick that they intend to rape Michonne and Carl before killing him. Dan holds Carl down, preparing to rape him. Rick headbutts Joe and they tussle, ending up with Joe holding Rick in a bear hug. Rick bites Joe in the throat, killing him. This stuns the other Claimers, and Michonne and Daryl use this to their advantage, killing all but Dan. Dan tries to flee, but Rick brutally stabs and disembowels him as his companions look on, putting a permanent end to the Claimers.

Members

 * Joe (Leader)
 * Tony
 * Lou
 * Len
 * Harley
 * Dan
 * Billy
 * Daryl Dixon (Formerly)

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims that Joe's group have killed:
 * Lou (Zombified)
 * Len
 * Numerous counts of zombies and possibly unnamed people.

Deaths

 * Lou
 * Len
 * Joe
 * Tony
 * Harley
 * Billy
 * Dan

Trivia

 * The Claimers are similar to The Maruaders from the comic counterpart for some reasons:
 * They ambushed Rick and the group in the middle of the road during the night time.
 * One of the members attempted to rape Carl.
 * Rick bit one of the members on the neck, ripping out his jugular.
 * Both members got shot in the head by Michonne. In the comic series, only one member was shot in the head by Abraham.
 * Rick stabbed the last member of the group to death.