Television news shines a spotlight on motorcycle clubs and gangs with a CNN special looking at the explosive encounter between the Bandidos and the Cossacks at a Waco restaurant in 2015. Regardless of what they ride, all bikers should watch this.
The special, ‘Biker Brawl: Inside the Texas Shootout’ airs Monday night at 9 p.m. ET.
The special attempts to bring together all the various versions of what happened on May 17, 2015 when the two motorcycle groups brawled at Twin Peaks, a biker-friendly, Hooters-style restaurant where cold beer is served by ‘women in skimpy cutoff shorts’ according to CNN.
CNN outlines all the theories of what started what’s considered the most violent day in Texas biker history, motorcycle gangs and the history between the two groups in a report previewing tonight’s special.
‘Was the beef over what patches the Cossacks could wear, as police had theorized? Did somebody at Twin Peaks run over a Cossack prospect’s foot, as some witnesses suggest? Was it over who owed dues to whom? Or was it just a dumb beef about parking spots?’ asks CNN.
Whatever started the fighting, it was over in less than two minutes and when the smoke cleared, nine bikers were fatally shot and another eighteen wounded. What many should agree, it could’ve been much worse if the violence hadn’t been brought to a quick end by 20 law enforcement officials investigating the biker meeting.
The fight gained national attention, led to the restaurant’s owner losing the ‘Twin Peak’s’ franchise and 177 bikers being arrested. Police recovered more than 470 weapons, 151 of which were firearms, and bail was initially set at $1 million each. A local grand jury later indicted 154 bikers on a single, generic count of engaging in organized criminal activity.
However, no clear story can be told nor any specific crimes charged with law officials and the local legal system refusing to comment.
This leaves the CNN special as the most comprehensive public report of what happened this time last year. The special rides into the unknown with an added social media interaction of a live Twitter chat during the show.
CNN reporters Ann O’Neill, Ed Lavandera and Jason Morris, carefully detail not only the two motorcycle gangs involved in the brawl, but other groups as well. The story follows one members path to becoming a Bandido and looks closer at the Cossacks as well as the illegal activities that set groups such as this apart from the thousands of motorcycle clubs who don’t consider themselves ‘1 percenters’. The report succinctly details the rivalry between the two warring motorcycle gangs noting ,’There are almost as many versions of what caused the tension between the Bandidos and Cossacks as there are Bandidos and Cossacks’.
Check out the video preview:
The piece is so well written, regardless of what riders think they know about motorcycle gangs, everyone will leave learning something new. This special promises to look closer at a part of our riding world that is the most apparent to the general public, making it something for every biker should watch, regardless of what they ride.
The special, ‘Biker Brawl: Inside the Texas Shootout’ airs Monday night at 9 p.m. ET.
(Source:clutch&chrome)
