What caused the explosive confrontation, in public, between the Cossacks and the Bandidos? Motorcycle clubs in America have a long history of civil conflict. In this outlaw culture, violence is normal and frequent; however, these stories rarely make the news due to witness intimidation and the clubs’ inferred code of silence. Outlaw motorcycle clubs live by their own set of laws, and the patches that they wear are held sacred; any act of disrespect toward a clubs patches is considered to be the highest insult to the club. How did one patch, with five letters on it, end with nine people dead, 18 wounded, and nearly 200 arrests? There were three main causes of the deadliest biker brawl in Texas history between the Cossacks and Bandidos; the fight
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The TXCOC&I is a motorcycle rights organization founded by the members of the Bandidos; it allows clubs and independent riders across Texas to network about political issues and bikers’ rights. The Cossacks are not members of the TXCOC&I, due to their disdain for the Bandidos, and have never attended the TXCOC&I meetings in the past. The TXCOC&I meeting scheduled for May 17th, was a regional meeting planned to be held in Waco because it is a central point between Dallas and Austin. There has not been a Bandido chapter in Waco for years, therefore, the Cossacks have taken over the town and consider it their territory. Consequently, the Cossacks planned to show up to the meeting early in a show of force. On May 17, 2015, approximately fifty Cossacks arrived at Twin Peaks around 11:30 am, two hours before the scheduled meeting; took over the outside patio area which had been reserved for the TXCOC&I meeting, and waited for the Bandidos to arrive (Waco Tribune). Around 12:30 am, a group of Bandidos pulled into the parking lot at Twin Peaks and were immediately met by Cossacks; pulling weapons as they exited the restaurant patio. The Cossacks have stated that they were invited to the meeting by the Bandidos in order to talk about resolving differences, but according to eyewitness and police reports, it appears that war was the only thing that the Cossacks wanted, was
The TXCOC&I is a motorcycle rights organization founded by the members of the Bandidos; it allows clubs and independent riders across Texas to network about political issues and bikers’ rights. The Cossacks are not members of the TXCOC&I, due to their disdain for the Bandidos, and have never attended the TXCOC&I meetings in the past. The TXCOC&I meeting scheduled for May 17th, was a regional meeting planned to be held in Waco because it is a central point between Dallas and Austin. There has not been a Bandido chapter in Waco for years, therefore, the Cossacks have taken over the town and consider it their territory. Consequently, the Cossacks planned to show up to the meeting early in a show of force. On May 17, 2015, approximately fifty Cossacks arrived at Twin Peaks around 11:30 am, two hours before the scheduled meeting; took over the outside patio area which had been reserved for the TXCOC&I meeting, and waited for the Bandidos to arrive (Waco Tribune). Around 12:30 am, a group of Bandidos pulled into the parking lot at Twin Peaks and were immediately met by Cossacks; pulling weapons as they exited the restaurant patio. The Cossacks have stated that they were invited to the meeting by the Bandidos in order to talk about resolving differences, but according to eyewitness and police reports, it appears that war was the only thing that the Cossacks wanted, was