Now they’re wondering if they were set up.”
According to CNN, “many Cossacks and their supporters said they were invited to the meeting and told it had been called to broker peace. Wilson, not surprisingly, describes the Cossacks as victims of the Bandidos. The recent CNN coverage of the incident has relied on statements made by John Wilson, who is described as “president of the Waco-area chapter of the Cossacks.” The story, by Dane Schiller, states, “A law enforcement officer familiar with the clash at Twin Peaks and well-versed in motorcycle gangs said Ledbetter seems to be telling the truth.” The account describes an unprovoked attack by Bandidos on Cossacks who had come to the Twin Peaks that day to talk peace. The principal source for that story was Boyett’s son Cody Ledbetter. On June 20, the Houston Chronicle ran an even more lurid first hand account titled “Life and death in Waco: A biker’s story.” That feature described the Bandido “execution” of Cossack Danny “Diesel” Boyett. He is a rare eye-witness speaking publicly about the Waco massacre.” On May 23, The Washington Post ran a lurid account of the confrontation titled “‘Richie died, then Diesel, then Dog’: An eyewitness to the Waco biker brawl.” The eyewitness was a Cossack who was “president of a North Texas chapter of the motorcycle gang.” According to the well known Washington daily, the single source for the story “asked not to be identified because he is now in hiding and said he fears for his life. Just because other clubs have given in, doesn’t mean we are going to.” Published AccountsĪll published first hand accounts of the massacre in which nine men died and 18 more were hospitalized have relied on statements made by Cossacks. We won’t be pressured into paying them dues, and that’s where their anger is coming from. “We are businessmen, family men, and veterans and are in no way affiliated with them. “There are things that they (the Bandidos) are involved in that we have no interest in,” he said. Keon blamed the Bandidos for the massacre. “We are an organization that is Texas-wide. “On our side, we are not a gang,” Keon said. The day after the deadly confrontation, a Cossack named Scott “Scoot” Keon told the Palestine, Texas City Council that his club was law-abiding and the Bandidos were not. The three CNN reporters also allege that “The Bandidos made a crucial decision on March 27 of this year, moving the regular meeting of the Confederation of Clubs and Independents from Austin to the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco,” and that “Waco police feared, with good cause as it turned out, that the May 17 meeting would trigger violence.”Ĭoverage of the incident has been so largely dominated by police and Cossack accounts that it is impossible not to suspect an interconnection. The usually informed source did not speculate who leaked the evidence but volunteered that although the major news sources have “all of this evidence, they are not reporting anything positive for the Bandidos.” FBIĪnn O’Neill, Ed Lavandera and Jason Morris of CNN have reported that “FBI agents in San Antonio and El Paso picked up intelligence that the Bandidos were planning to go to war with the Cossacks.” The covert camera video has not yet been released to defense attorneys in the case. He said it showed Cossacks arriving and occupying the patio of the Twin Peaks then “spreading out across the patio in sentry positions.” Jarrett is leading the grand jury that will decide which of 177 defendants will be indicted for murder, criminal conspiracy and other charges. The evidence includes an affidavit by a Waco police detective who testified that a Texas Department of Public Safety “covert camera” recorded a member of the Cossacks Motorcycle Club “executing” a member of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club.Īt a bond reduction hearing on June 5, Assistant District Attorney Michael Jarrett referred to the covert camera video and said it showed “Bandidos executing Cossacks and Cossacks executing Bandidos, some at point-blank range.” Jarrett described the video in detail at that hearing. The evidence has been presented to a grand jury currently convened in McLennan County and includes materials that have not yet been discovered to defense attorneys in the case. According to a usually informed source, both CNN and The Associated Press are in possession of previously unreleased evidence related to the Twin Peaks Massacre last May.