Posted on 06/19/2015 6:57:59 AM PDT by don-o
One month ago yesterday, on the early afternoon of May 17, in and outside the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas, a bevy of marauding motorcycle gangs who had gathered to create some sort of criminal trouble (the cops had already warned the restaurant to not let them meet there) began a wild melee of shooting at each other and at police. Nine people would eventually lose their lives, and 18 others were wounded.
Waco police (including a SWAT team) and officers from the state Department of Public Safety–who were all already on the scene, aware of the potential for trouble–swung into action, nipped the violent chaos in the bud, and put 177 violent criminals behind bars on charges of "engaging in organized criminal activity." Bail was uniformly, and understandably, set at $1 million.
So went the story as told at the time by the Waco police. But in the ensuing month the behavior of law enforcement that day has come increasingly into question.
snip
Even if, as the lawyers I've spoken to predict, the vast majority of those arrested eventually end up released unindicted, without specific proof of their intent or participation in any crime at the scene, that doesn't make the police's actions harmless. Imagine how your work life, family life, and home life, would be affected by being suddenly without warning locked away for weeks. Jobs, custody, relationships can all be lost. You've been marked in a manner not easily washed away.
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
One of the bikers, a friend of a friend, is losing custody of his two boys because of this. He just got out of jail a few days ago.
His bail was reduced to $10k but he was required to pay 100% of it, not the normal 10% deal you get with a bail bondsman. His gang paid his bail and several other gang members’ bail too.
Oh, and they took his cell phone and refuse to give it back even though they do not, or did not until just now, have a warrant.
I should mention that this guy is a real Bandido and a complete dooshbag. He has no visible job yet always has lots of cash, and is complicit in smuggling drugs from McAllen to Midland, TX.
I know at least one of the people killed was buried a few days later in the Dallas, Ft Worth area.
Well, he's sure serving a purpose to what sure looks to me like a calculated PR strategy to taint Cossacks the same as Bandidos. Maybe Cossacks are on a par with true bad asses, but so far it looks like they're mostly pretty decent patriotic guys because the only sources to say otherwise are limited to "police intelligence," and at that only recently.
Of the 12 Cossacks whose property was seized in the arrests, only four had arrest records, and for stuff like DUI and pot, unlawful carry, "aggravated assault." ONE even had a bb gun stashed in his truck! Scary!!
Of the 15 Bandidos arrested and property seized, seven had arrest records and a lot of convictions representing drug manufacture and delivery (meth), lots of theft, robbery -- bad-ass stuff.
The only other sign I've found of a real live "felon" Cossack is KC Massey (don't know for what felony), currently awaiting jury selection scheduled to start July 28, for his trial on an ATF charge of "felon in possession of a firearm." Massey led a private armed patrol to stop illegal drug and human trafficking on private property at the Texas Mexico border. The ATF isn't screaming that the guy was helping the illegals or drug smugglers, ONLY that he was maybe doing it "illegally."
"The Cameron County Sheriff could find no violation of the law, but confiscated the weapons carried by Massey’s men." THAT is a Cossack in the news with an actual "crime" charged against him, apparently for helping property owners defend the border and their property.
I happen to like what riding Harleys does for people. That includes clubs of male brotherhoods, God knows it's the only place in America they're available -- not even the military has them anymore. As long as no crimes are committed, guys have a right to join Harley clubs and ride. It's the right of assembly. The ones who break laws and hurt others, it's the cops job to catch. But Harley fellowship, whether in "patched" clubs like Veteran riders, etc., or unpatched mustang unconventional independents, to weekender and so-called "yuppie" bikers, they're mostly good things, mostly highly patriotic, and lots of people enjoy the lifestyle how they please, civilly and legally.
Some of them are real brotherhoods, and that's their right and role. The role of lawmen is to catch criminals engaging in crimes.
Here, it is nothing more than militarized police arresting people who wear certain insignia. Lawmen are ABSENT.
The whole thing is nuts.
Nothing I've found indicated that the Cossacks there were considered particularly "criminal" before this incident. Even if there was -- that this so-called showdown "shootout" took place in a time and place where they could arrest 177 people and permanently harm probably 150 or more totally innocent people guilty of nothing more than being part of the biker demographic ... which is notoriously patriotic ...
bump
When they come for you [us], as evidenced by posts to the Waco threads, they will have plenty of help from members of this forum to shove us into the cattle cars and in all probably, assist with the shootings of us.
Amen to that.
Number one. They get away with them in Waco.
Instructive to note how much this forum is driven by the news cycle. It’s discouraging to see how little interest the Waco story engenders.
I guess the day has come and gone when FR actually impacts the national conversation.
Yep. Because they're too smart to be fooled by a bunch of conspiracy theorists like us. Don-o, please go to this link and hear the radio interview with a long-time member and officer in the nation-wide Confederation of Clubs and Independents flatly state that the meeting where these people were arrested was a political meeting and it is held about every six weeks in that area of Texas, just like such meetings among/by CoCI are held all across the U.S. regularly attended by many hundreds of bikers, and in 20-plus years of them being held constantly and everywhere, there has NEVER been an incident of "gang" violence.
He states plainly that the CoCI is a political organization created by American motorcyclists of all stripes who want to keep up on and influence legislation affecting motorcycles, and these meetings are open-microphone affairs ALWAYS open to anyone who ride a motorcycle in America.
The pretence put forth by LEO that one group was "disinvited" is therefore absurd on its face.
This link is the most compelling I've found let to indicate the magnitude of the danger America is now facing, because even if everyone arrested is found innocent after three or four years of "due process" to remedy the lack of it in the original arrest, it is too late. Mission accomplished: otherwise average law-abiding motorcycle enthusiasts of the same demographic who have ridden on DC by the many hundreds of thousands, American flags waving and angry at the current administration, are for all intents and purposes taken out financially, professionally, and materially. Done deal.
And if the same thing happened tomorrow somewhere else, with bikers or some other kind of organized groups among which there are a few individuals wearing insignia that police "intel" defines as indicating announcement of criminal intent and the MSM obligingly demonizes as such to people who otherwise have little to zero knowledge of these people or groups, America would AGAIN fall for it at least long enough for the permanent damage to be done to the finances, lives, and reputations of patriots likely to resist government tyranny on a domestic front.
I am shocked, saddened, and resigned -- FReepers who generally boast about not trusting the MSM, are proving to be all talk -- the are demonstrating that indeed, they do trust the MSM to keep them informed. They just say they don't.
FReepers as a whole have allowed themselves to be wholly manipulated and fooled, because this modern American news story of significant magnitude historically comparable only to 9-11 -- isn't even on their radar. So much for being aware of what is happening on things that "impact" America.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.