Several hundred motorcyclists gathered in downtown Waco at the McLennan County Courthouse nine days ago — on Sunday, June 7 — to protest what they say is unfair treatment by law enforcement following the May 17 shootout involving members of rival motorcycle clubs and police that resulted in nine dead and 18 injured.
Organizers said the rally was intended to be a silent, peaceful protest against the round up and mass arrest of 177 bystanders (all of whom were charged with engaging in organized crime, with bail set at $1 million each) that the group believes were arrested at the Twin Peaks restaurant simply because they happened to be at the crime scene. The “All for 1” rally also gave participants the opportunity to show support for those who are still detained while they await bail hearings.
“Bikers are being discriminated against even more around the country,” said Mel “Og” Robins, one of the rally’s organizers, in a TV interview. Not everyone who rides a motorcycle is a gang member, said another rally participant. Many rally participants believe the jailed bikers’ constitutional rights have been violated. Rally participants held up signs with such messages as: “It’s time to right this wrong,” “Biker lives matter,” “No More Massacres in Waco,” “Free the Innocent” and “God Loves Bikers 2.”
Last Friday — June 12 — the Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman defended the actions of the 16 officers responding to what has been referred to as “the deadly biker gang brawl in May,” saying the officers fired a total of 12 shots and “did not fire indiscriminately.” The officers involved in shooting have been assigned to administrative work while the incident is being investigated, according to a Waco Police Department press release. Waco police said 177 people were arrested on the night of the shooting and, since Saturday, 123 have since been released on bail. (PHOTOS BY GARRETT STANLEY)
