WACO, Texas — Two bikers out of 170 who were arrested after a shootout in Waco, Texas have been released, and now they are speaking out.

William and Morgan English, a married biker couple, posted a reduced bail of $25,000 and were released from jail on Monday. The couple have been in jail since their arrest on May 17, following a brawl at the Twin Peaks Sports Bar in Waco that left nine people dead and 18 injured.

The couple are still being charged with a felonies for engaging in organized crime, facing prison sentences that could land them behind bars for life.

“This whole thing is a sham,” said former marine William English, 33, who is a member of the Distorted Motorcycle Club. “I’m kind of upset that we had to pay to get out of jail when we did nothing wrong.”

Morgan English also says neither of them broke the law, explaining that they had arrived late to the meetup, right before gunfire broke out.

“All of a sudden I see a sea of people running towards me, and we run around the building,” said Morgan.

Paul Looney, the couple’s attorney, said their cases will go to a grand jury. Looney called the mass arrests “the most un-American activity I’ve ever seen conducted by a law enforcement agency.”

“These are great, salt of the earth people that formerly had the respect of the community,” Looney said. “In their community they have been broadcast as being thugs and members of a secret gang.”

Waco Police Sergeant Patrick Swanton is defending the actions of the police. “It’s pretty commonplace for arrestees to complain about being arrested. Our investigation is continuing, and the justice system is working as it should,” Swanton said.

Most of the bikers arrested during the incident are still behind bars, and no charges have yet been dropped. In some cases, their bonds have been reduced from $1 million.

An NBC News video interview of the couple is available below:

WACO, Texas — Earlier today, detainees in the Jack Harwell Detention Center in Waco were told that in exchange for bond reductions, they must sign a document stating the Waco police “had the right to arrest the inmate and that he/she will not file a lawsuit against McLennan County and/or the City of Waco.”

On the two-week anniversary of the “shootout at high noon” at the Twin Peaks restaurant between motorcyclists and law enforcement officers, at least 170 people remain detained on $1 million bonds.

This latest information was reported to an attorney representing at least one of the detainees. “It appears the public defenders office in McLennan County is involved in this scurrilous activity,” said Paul Looney, a Houston attorney with Looney & Conrad, P.C. “I’ve never seen anything like the lawlessness that the authorities have perpetrated on these people and now to add insult to injury they are trying to cover their own tracks in exchange for bond. I will be in the reception area of the McLennan County D.A.’s office tomorrow morning at 8:30 with the intention of not leaving until we have the issue of bond resolved.”

“They know these people aren’t dangerous or they wouldn’t be offering the bond reductions and they know the police and the D.A.’s office have violated the law and now they are trying to hold people hostage until they agree to waive their rights. It’s unconscionable,” said Clay S. Conrad, Looney’s law partner.

One family member of a biker summed up the news like this:

In other words, the Waco PD is putting a gun to the head of the accused by holding their freedom for ransom. “If you want out, give us a pass.”

Such a thing is nothing short of extortion! If they refuse, they intend on continuing to hold them on the $1-million bond.

Let that sink in for a moment. The Waco PD and feds would have you believe that nearly 170 Americans, whom are locked away, are so dangerous, that they cannot be trusted with freedom. Yet, if they’ll agree to absolve the Waco PD of any crime, suddenly they’re outstanding citizens?

Like I’ve been telling you since the beginning, these men and women were kidnapped to attain their silence. They were kidnapped to protect the Waco Police from having to answer for their crimes. And we can prove it, now.

The Waco Police wants absolution for murdering 9 people, and kidnapping and abusing 170 witnesses. But they want to circumvent the legal system. They don’t want their crimes to be exposed to the public.

This is another case of government believing that they are above justice. We cannot allow such a thing to happen. The truth needs to known, and it needs to spread from coast-to-coast. If they get away with it in Waco, they’ll do it again. Maybe next time, you’ll be the target.

If you are family of any of the victims who are being held for ransom by the Waco Police, do NOT agree to sign this document. The Waco Police shall not avoid the inevitable day when the truth comes out in court. True justice is coming! And the Waco Police will soon be exposed for their crimes against the victims of the Waco massacre. The dead and the kidnapped deserve true justice, and that won’t come with silence, it will come with the exposure of the truth.

Authorities in Waco, Texas, continue to investigate the deaths of nine motorcycle gang members in one of the worst biker brawls in recent times. More than 170 people were arrested and charged with organized crime; each is being held under a $1 million bond.

Now there’s a backlash from biker groups, who claim many of the riders were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time, and had nothing to do with Sunday’s bloody fight.

Waco police continue to justify the large number of arrests; they say five criminal motorcycle gangs went to war with one another at the Twin Peaks Bar & Grill last weekend.

Ron Blackett emphatically disagrees. He’s a 48-year-old business security specialist in Austin, former U.S. Army and Coast Guard, who rides a 2011 Harley Davidson Road King. Blackett says he knows many of the riders now sitting in county jail in Waco.

“They’re not gang members,” he says. “I’m not a gang member. And to be labeled as a gang member, or some of these kids that are right now locked up with a million-dollar bond on them, it’s terrifying and it’s extremely unfortunate.”

Blackett, whose club name is Bone, acts as vice president of the central Texas region of the Confederation of Clubs and Independents, known as CoC&I, a biker organization that meets regularly to educate its members on motorcycle legislation — and to drink beer. Last Sunday, the group was hosting a meeting at Twin Peaks when the violence broke out.

Blackett says he arrived at the restaurant in a pickup truck shortly after the melee ended. When he drove up, he says, he saw “Law enforcement all over the place. Helicopters flying over. A lot of people crying. A lot of people scared.”

Police officers observe the scene at Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas, the site of the recent motorcycle gang-related shooting.

Other clubs that belong to the umbrella group include the Christian Motorcycle Association, Bikers Against Child Abuse, Legacy Vets and Vise Grip, a club that builds and rides pre-1970 custom Harley choppers.

Vise Grip member Theron Rhoten was among those arrested. His wife, Katie, spoke to KUT in Austin.

“Most of the clubs that were present there had nothing to do with the shootings,” she said. “They didn’t do anything but go to a meeting.”

Police are blaming the confrontation on bad blood between the Cossacks and the Bandidos. The Cossacks are a Central Texas biker gang that’s not affiliated with CoC&I, but which showed up in force anyway.

The Bandidos is an outlaw motorcycle gang, long associated with drug trafficking, that considers Texas its home turf and regularly attends confederation meetings.

Authorities investigate a shooting in the parking lot of the Twin Peaks restaurant Sunday in Waco, Texas. Authorities say the shootout victims were members of rival biker gangs that had gathered for a meeting.

Bill Smith, a well-known motorcycle lawyer in Dallas, says one jailed rider told him there was already a large group of Cossacks in the parking lot when the Bandidos rolled up.

“He said shortly after the Bandidos got off their motorcycles, an altercation broke out and that’s when they hit the ground,” Smith says.

Smith says his informant could not say who or what started the gunplay. But the lawyer — himself a biker and member of the confederation — says in the 15 years he’s been attending meetings, he has never seen trouble break out.

“In fact, our meetings, after the pledge of allegiance and a prayer, many times the chairman will say, ‘If you have any issues with anyone, for any reason, take it up elsewhere,’ ” he says.

Despite protests by the biker confederation that its members are peaceful, Waco Police spokesman Sgt. Patrick Swanton defends the big round-up of criminal suspects.

“There are clubs of motorcycle groups that do really good things,” Swanton says. “We understand that. But that was not the people involved in the incident Sunday where an extreme amount of violence took place. Those that were involved in the activities at Twin Peaks are known criminal gang members.”

Swanton says investigators recovered 318 weapons, most of them knives and handguns. He says nearly a week after the incident, outlaw motorcycle gangs are still making death threats against law enforcement officers.

This story originally reported by Josh Burnett at NPR

The death toll from the “Twin Peaks” shootout was greater than the total number of homicides Waco police investigated in all of 2014 – And all of the “Twin Peaks” dead were shot by police.

Previously Waco Police Spokesman W. Patrick Swanton stated 22 members of law enforcement were present prior to the outbreak of the shooting.  Including 10 members of the Waco SWAT unit, 2 sergeants, 1 rookie, the Asst. Police Chief and 4 state troopers.

Newly released information today includes the Waco Police stating 14 Waco PD officers were involved in firing shots which killed 9 bike club members and wounded 18 more.

The 14 officers involved in the gun battle are all now on administrative leave, which is standard protocol in officer-involved shootings, Swanton said. (link)

In addition Sgt Swanton previously stated that all of the 170 arrested bikers were known “criminal gang members”.  However, a review by the Associated Press of court records finds at least 115 of the 170 had no police records:

Waco police have said that all those arrested after the shooting belonged to criminal motorcycle gangs. Most of them were being held on $1 million bonds Thursday, charged with engaging in criminal enterprise. Nine people were killed in Sunday’s shootout.

Records searched by The Associated Press show more than 115 of the 170 people arrested in the aftermath of a motorcycle gang shootout outside a Central Texas restaurant have not been convicted of a crime in Texas.  (link)

After previously saying he had not watched the CCTV video from the restaurant/bar yesterday (Wed) -which was reviewed by Associated Press reporters- Swanton now says he has watch the CCTV video.

He said he has viewed surveillance videos of the violence, and said they tell a different story from the some of the accounts being spun online.

“We can’t wait to show you what truly happened,” he said. (link)

Which is a disingenuous statement at best because all they need to do is authorize the restaurant to release the video, and the public can decide for ourselves.

One of the bikers the police killed, Jesus Delgado Rodriquez (65), was a purple heart recipient.

Family members of a man killed in a biker shootout at a Texas restaurant say he was not part of an outlaw motorcycle gang.  That contradicts police claims that all nine bikers who died were members of criminal gangs.

The son of 65-year-old Jesus Delgado Rodriguez, of New Braunfels, told the San Antonio Express-News that his father did not lead a life of violence. An Associated Press review of court records and a database maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety found no criminal history in Texas for Rodriguez.

Family members said Rodriguez had belonged to two now defunct motorcycle clubs but was not part of any club when he was shot and killed at Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco.

Waco police spokesman Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton told the AP on Wednesday that all those killed were members of the Bandidos or the Cossacks. Swanton did not immediately return a message Thursday. (link)

In addition from a lawsuit filed against Twin Peaks by the neighboring restaurant Don Carlos it is claimed the police fired “thousands of rounds” toward the bikers; striking not only bike club members but also Don Carlos customer vehicles.

Summary and personal thoughts:  It is entirely possible that some of the bikers were criminals; and it is also entirely possible that twitchy police responded excessively and overreacted to a perceived threat.  These two possibilities are not mutually exclusive.

Who shot at whom first; who did or did not pull the trigger; and what might have spurred the 14 police officers to fire “thousands of rounds” at a group of 3 to 5 potentially armed bikers when the downrange backdrop was a patio filled with hundreds of unarmed bikers is not yet known.

Look closely at this picture:

You can see bullet holes in the customer vehicles in the Don Carlos parking lot.

NOTE: Direction of fire from Don Carlos toward Twin Peaks.
NOTE: The downrange backdrop of that fire (for the bullets that miss their target) is the patio of Twin Peaks.

However, apparently pointing out a strong possibility for an overreaction by twitchy police is now considered “Conspiracy Theory”, or something.   A radio broadcast today calls our previous outline (which quoting MSM information) as conspiracy theory. [Listen at 8:15]

I find it interesting how intelligent people cannot bring themselves to believe the police may have influenced, initiated, created and/or worsened the events with their militarized (SWAT) presence at a bike club meeting.

Ruby Ridge?… How about M.O.V.E (Philadelphia)? … Or maybe Waco 1.0? … or perhaps more recently “Baby Bou-Bou” ringing any bells?  Cops make mistakes too !!

Doesn’t anyone else find it curious that an Asst. Police Chief was on scene at Twin Peaks along with the SWAT unit, presumably as scene commander prior to the shootings, and yet no-one has heard from him/her?

Doesn’t anyone else find it curious that initial police statements claimed they had “an active intelligence operation” on the “Bike Gang” which customarily would include monitoring (camera’s, video, etc) and yet the police release NO VIDEO to support their “we were under fire” claims?

A previous comment by J.D. sums up the strange sniff of it all nicely:

I’m former law enforcement for over 20 years. I have ridden with 2 different LEMC clubs. I worked undercover back in late 80’s and have dealt with 1% clubs many times. I have friends in 1% clubs.

I’m pro law enforcement but have a funny feeling that there is lots of horseshit in the story that Waco PD is telling.

I have family living and Working in that area. They have had interaction with the clubs and never felt scared or intimidated. Always felt safe.

Now are we going get the truth or more bullshit? I’m tending on believing the bikers sides on this deal more with every day that passes. Too many people arrested and charged with RICO that were just spending time at TP.

I think LE has overstepped it’s authority on filing these type charges on most these people. $1,000,000 bonds??? BS…

Even if you find reasonable excuses for all the LEO contradictions (fight in bathroom, shots inside, all killed were inside/dragged out etc.);  even if you ignore all the misleading statements by law enforcement spokesman Patrick Swanton (100 weapons, 50 weapons, 1000 weapons etc); even if you ignore the lack of willingness to produce factual data to support their claims, ….you are still left with a ridiculous assertion that 170 non-criminal people deserve a million dollar bond because they rode a motorcycle last Sunday to a meeting, and possibly witnessed what happened.

The total number of bikers on scene, according to Swanton, was 200.  170 are arrested, 18 were wounded, 9 were killed, that totals 197.  So only 3 people were non-conspirators?

This nonsense about weapons found in vehicles etc. is just that, nonsense.

If you go to a Waco Texas Wal-Mart on Sunday, rope off the parking lot, arrest the first 200 people you see and search their pick-up trucks, suv’s and various vehicles you’ll probably come up with a similar set of statistics.

50 out of 200 people captured at Wal-Mart with prior arrest records; some with pocket knives, chains, handguns, and even rifles in their vehicles etc.  

So what? None of that is illegal or unlawful. Ridiculous. Go to a Bass Pro shop on Saturday and you’ll probably find even better stats if that’s the goal.

Another factor which makes it all the more curious is these are the ACTUAL talking points Sgt. Patrick Swanton is relying on to justify the shooting.  This innocuous nonsense is what they are focused on.  That itself indicates -to a reasonably discerning person- there’s something uncomfortable about the narrative the LEO responders are trying to avoid.

That’s not conspiracy, that’s just common sense.

It is not conspiracy theory the incident occurred at 12:24pm Central Time (1:24 pm Eastern) and in around 90 minutes, 2:04pm CST (3:04pm EST) this press conference was held, giving the specifics of 9 dead and 18 wounded and a restaurant owner who needs to be shut down for non-compliance.

Published at http://theconservativetreehouse.com by sundance

WACO, Texas – When gunfire erupted outside a Texas restaurant, most of the leather-clad motorcycle riders watching the confrontation immediately ran away from the shooting. A few tried to direct people inside, crawling on all fours heading for safety.

One biker ran away with blood on his face, hands and torso. A woman could be heard screaming, “Oh my God!” Others yelled, “Get down!”

According to restaurant security video shown to The Associated Press exclusively, only one of the dozens of bikers was seen firing a gun from the patio of the Twin Peaks restaurant where nine people were killed.

Many of the bikers on tape are likely to have been arrested by Waco police, who rounded up about 170 people, charged them with felony engaging in organized criminal activity and set their bonds at $1 million.

Police spokesman Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton declined to comment about the video Wednesday. Swanton has said the people arrested were members of biker gangs with criminal elements that have been monitored by local authorities for months.

“They were not here to drink and eat barbecue,” Swanton said earlier this week. “They came here with violence in mind.”

The video shows bikers on the restaurant patio Sunday, ducking under tables and trying to get inside. At least three people were holding handguns.

Before the shooting, the inside of the restaurant appears to be mostly empty. Bikers and other patrons can be seen walking to the windows facing the parking lot, where most of the shooting happened, when the confrontation was apparently underway.

When gunshots start at 12:24 p.m. on the video, most bikers, other patrons and staff immediately run away from the windows and into the restaurant’s interior. At least three people can be seen holding handguns.

One camera angle shows bikers running into the men’s bathroom. When there’s no space left in the bathroom, they dash toward the kitchen.

The AP was shown the video Wednesday by representatives of the Twin Peaks franchise, who have said the fighting began outside the restaurant, not inside as police have said. The franchise has not released the video publicly, citing the ongoing investigation.

None of the nine video angles shows the parking lot.

Video shows police with assault rifles entering the door about two minutes after the shooting begins. As two officers enter, bikers can be seen lying on the floor with their hands spread.

Before the shooting, at least 20 members of the Cossacks biker gang can be seen on the patio. Members of the Scimitars, Boozefighters and Leathernecks can also be seen on the tape. While no Bandidos are immediately visible, police and one member of that biker gang have said some of their members were at the event.

Among those arrested was Theron Rhoten, who showed up at the Twin Peaks restaurant for a regional motorcycle club meeting. But, according to his wife, he soon found himself in the middle of a deadly shootout involving scores of other bikers.

Katie Rhoten said her husband ran for cover and was later arrested, along with motorcycle-riding friends and other “nonviolent, noncriminal people.”

Police have said that all those arrested were part of criminal motorcycle gangs, but only five of the nine people killed had criminal histories in Texas, based on court records and a search of their names in a database maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Police have acknowledged firing on armed bikers, but it is not clear how many of the dead were shot by gang members and how many were shot by officers.

This story found on the Associated Press wire

A popular bikers website called The Aging Rebel recently published a totally different account of the fatal shootout that occurred near a Texas Twin Peaks restaurant on Sunday than the one that Waco authorities told reporters.

 

The article, titled “The Waco Police Massacre,” mentioned a number of details that were not previously published, and also presented the controversial theory that described the event as a police ambush, according to the Washington Weekly Times.

Originally, Waco authorities didn’t want to name the biker groups  involved, saying that they did not want to “give the gangs publicity.”

Here’s Aging Rebel’s account (Waco police did not agree with the information presented below):

The fight resulted from a long simmering dispute between members of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club and the Cossacks and the Scimitars Motorcycle Clubs. Curtis Jack Lewis, president of the Abilene chapter of the Bandidos, and Wesley Dale Mason, the chapters’ sergeant at arms, were accused of stabbing two Cossacks outside Logan’s Roadhouse in Abilene in November 2013. The two Bandidos were charged with aggravated assault in March 2014. The Scimitars are in the process of patching over to the Cossacks.

Other clubs in attendance at the Sunday brunch included the Blackett Arms MC, Gypsy MC, HonorBound Motorcycle Ministry, Renatus MC, Escondidos MC, Sons of the South MC, Los Pirados MC, Leathernecks MC, Vietnam Vets/Legacy Vets MC, In Country MC and the Tornado Motorcycle Club.

When the restaurant refused to ban the Confederation of Clubs, police stationed at least 22 cops including ten Swat officers from the Waco P.D. and the Texas Department of Public Safety in the parking lot outside the restaurant. They did not station either uniformed or plain clothes officers in the restaurant.

The shove in the bathroom became a scuffle in the restaurant. When about 30 Bandidos, Cossacks, Scimitars and other bikers spilled into the parking between the Twin peaks and the Don Carlos Mexican restaurant next door, the police were waiting for them. The scuffle became a knife fight and several men were stabbed. When one of the combatants produced a gun the Swat team opened fire with automatic weapons. Multiple sources have told The Aging Rebel that all of the dead were killed by police.

A Waco Police Department spokesman said at a press conference yesterday that 18 officers were on scene prior to the event due to the overwhelming presence of bikers in the shopping mall parking lot.

Four of the deaths – not all nine – were reportedly caused by law enforcement, according to CNN.

Of the nine deaths, a law enforcement source says preliminary information indicates that four of the bikers were killed by police gunfire. The investigation continues and the ballistics will be analyzed to determine for certain who was responsible for each shooting.

Officers began engaging the bikers within 30 seconds of the fight starting, which made many believe that there was an undercover informant inside the restaurant.

More of the bikers’ side of the story can be read here.