We’ve been reporting on the Waco biker shooting since the Twin Peaks incident first hit the ‘net. The first clue that the authorities were covering up the police shootings: the cops arrested 100 people at the scene. Then the judge set bail at an absurd, unconstitutional $1 million each. Then the Justice of the Peace released the autopsy results on the nine people killed in the shoot-out/massacre – without specifying which victims were killed by police (easy enough as the cops were firing 5.56 ammo from rifles). And now that cases are heading to court, there’s more evidence that there’s a massive cover-up of the events of that day. wacotrib,com reports . . .
A state district judge ruled Tuesday that a Dallas attorney can have a copy of a Twin Peaks franchisee’s video of the May 17 biker shootout, but the judge barred the release of the video to the public.
Judge Matt Johnson of Waco’s 54th State District Court also granted a prosecution request to place a gag order in the Matthew Alan Clendennen case, preventing attorneys on both sides, law enforcement officers and witnesses from discussing that case only in the media.
In arguing his case for release of the video, Dallas attorney Clint Broden said he needs to review the video to prove his client’s innocence and to help him prepare for an examining trial set for Aug. 10.
Broden told the judge it “boggles my mind” that police and prosecutors can describe what is on the video but his client could not get a copy to help prepare his defense. He also said the Associated Press viewed the video and reported on it.
He argued the city’s contention that release of the video would impede its investigation is not valid because it posts videos of armed robberies on Waco Police Department social media accounts.
What possible justification could the judge have for withholding the video and putting a lid on the trial?
The judge said he placed the video under a protective order because he is concerned about tainting potential jury pools. Broden said he intends to appeal the protective order and the gag order to Waco’s 10th Court of Appeals . . .
Prosecutor Mark Parker told the judge that the state has every intention of complying with the rules of discovery but said the case is complex, is still under investigation and forensic testing is ongoing. He said the DA’s office will comply with discovery, but had not intended on doing so in “piecemeal fashion” one case at a time.
Yeah, there are a LOT of cases pending. The question is: will any of them get to the truth of the matter? Meanwhile note that the video belongs to Twin Peaks. And there are no cop or dash cam videos in evidence. Yet.
By sequestering the evidence and gagging the lawyers, the judge is only tossing fuel on the conspiracy fire. It’s all going to come out sooner or later, so why not now?
Two Words: Damage Control.
Ok, two more words: Constructing Narrative.
My guess is that a biker brawl ensued, biker draws gun in anger and uses it on a couple of rival bikers, and the cops panic and open fire on the crowd. Now the powers that be have got to comb through a crap-ton of evidence to find even a vaguely plausible piece of it to support the “cops were under fire” narrative that will be used to justify/defend the slaughter.
Wrong! Trust me… Just trust me ????
Yeah, the video will leak. They always do. No reason to try to suppress it and end up with articles like this one all over the internet, fomenting distrust and conspiracy theories, etc.
This is Waco we’re talking about. Not the first time Law Enforcement has gone all shooty on people for no good reason then tried to cover it up in that town…
Adding fuel to the fire?
Well let’s see- “Judge” Matt Johnson is Reyna’s former law partner, worked for Reyna’s father and received campaign contributions from Reyna. Is it then any surprise that almost every ruling (except for the subpeona which was open and shut) has gone Reyna’s way?
There isn’t even a pretense of impartiality and, if there is any justice, “judge judy wannabe” Johnson will be going to jail with his accomplices (Reyna, Swanton, Peterson). They deserve the death penalty but judges protect each other so that’s impossible
Covering up or trying to cover up errors is a crime in and of itself.
Following the example of the ditz in Baltimore.
No, the “ditz” in Baltimore wasted no time in charging the criminal cops for the crimes they committed. Its why we need a special prosecutor from Austin to step in. This crooked small town “judicial” system needs to be rooted out and destroyed.
Reminds you of the case against the Mormon polygamists
The case is complex? We’re not talking about some international patent infringement case here, it’s a damned shooting. How complex can it be?
When was the last time you saw video of a patent infringement? How many news stories have you seen on patent infringement? You know what happens when the video is released? It will be displayed on every news channel at least 500 times. It will be next to impossible to find an untainted jury, should Texas charge the cops who fired. I wouldn’t be so quick to rush to the cover up judgement.
Actually it’d still be pretty easy. In fact the demographic that usually turns out for jury duty (elderly and poor) will still be blissfully ignorant of this event.
I didn’t say there was no legitimate fear of tainting the jury pool, but that has NOTHING to do with the complexity of the case. “It’s a complex case” seems to be one of those facile throwaway phrases used to avoid dealing with a question on its merits.
Ah, the horrors of a jury which may have been exposed to information not presented, censored, hence tainted, by a gaggle of lawyers……
From seeing biker gangs operate I believe this is a case where two gangs were to have it out and the cops chose to get in the middle. Hiding information does not exhibit honesty.
There might have been a dispute between a couple of guys that snowballed, but the “gangs” did NOT show up to fight. They just don’t do stuff like that in public deliberately. It’s bad for business, so to speak. No way did the leadership call for members to kill cops. That’s even worse for business. I’m not trying to place the blame entirely on law enforcement and the judges, but there is some strange stuff going on, and most definitely some major violations of rights.
We should all be gladio that the judge offered the bikers an opportunity to be let out on bail.
I’m sure that this strategy greatly reduced the tension of the whole situation.
“We should all be gladio that the judge offered the bikers an opportunity to be let out on bail.”
Yeah. A cool 1 million, cash.
Oh, you don’t have a spare million to get out?
No worries! The bail bondsman will spot you the million.
The fee is 10 percent.
You will owe *him* $100,000.
Don’t sweat it! He’ll finance it for you.
For an even *higher* price.
See? No worries, mate!
There are lines. You know what is done with lines when reading, right?
‘Lines’ like “gladio”, whatever the hell that is?
Wow, you’re dense.
Ever heard of a search engine?
There was a recent study on how search engines, spell check and the like are making people believe they are much smarter than they actually are. I wish I still had the link. Anyways fun fact for you.
Read between them. He was being sarcastic
Interesting that the courts appear to be in the business of protecting the enforcers and the “legitimacy” of the state and that they more or less leave it at that. When the courts become nothing but protectors of the status quo they delegitimize the government that the courts are there to give legitimacy to. SCOTUS decides to re-define words to protect SCOTUSBAMAcare, local traffic courts disregard the testimony of the accused, criminal courts are a wealth detector and nothing else, and when the executive branch does something like this atrocity they’re shielded by the courts. I say the government we have is no longer legitimate and it might be time to consider the ramifications of that.
It will take a whistle-blower to fix this problem.
“Prosecutor Mark Parker told the judge that the state has every intention of complying with the rules of discovery but said the case is complex, is still under investigation and forensic testing is ongoing. He said the DA’s office will comply with discovery, but had not intended on doing so in “piecemeal fashion” one case at a time.”
So all the nearly 100 people have to sit in jail with no access to evidence until they ALL go to trial? Talk about bending the rule of law just a “little” Mr. Parker must have a pretzel business on the side.
I live in Waco and that vibe, cover up, isn’t the feeling around town.
What is the vibe? Everyone thinks it went down the way it has been said? Or just not much paying attention to it at all?
What *is* the ‘feeling’, the ‘vibe’ then?
People pretty much believe it went down the way Swanton (Police Public Info Officer) reported. He’s a really trusted member of the force. That being said, I work for a local government and we(those in my department) strongly suspect we’re going to get our collective asses sued over this.
Why the $1m bails, gags, and unreleased autopsies? It reminds me of catching kids doing something wrong and then watching them guiltily, hurriedly and half-heartedly try to cover it up
Trust building exercise?
And it’s going to come out of your paycheck or the tax payer’s pocket?
Two words….Ted Nugent. These are all his LEO friends around his ranch.
Am I wrong in thinking there would be no need for a cover up had the cops taken an approach similar to Baltimore’s and stood off and let the bikers sort it out? And only jumped in if they were actually taking fire or bystanders endangered. Then they could have stepped in when the dust settled. Or, would this approach have opened up a whole new can of worms?
This doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Especially attending a certain university in Waco…
“he needs to review the video to prove his client’s innocence”
Woah, what? I thought the burden of proving guilt…
While this seems like a big deal in TX, it’s par for the course in FL. They wouldn’t arrest 100 here, they’d just kill anyone who was there, destroy all footage, kill everyone who saw said footage, etc. Waco was sloppy, the FDLE is ruthless. Why stir up the public when you can keep them from ever knowing? The FDLE doesn’t take prisoners when it comes to cover-ups. Anyone who knows anything is dead, and they’ll start with your children.
At least in TX a few of them are still alive…
There is also the point that this was rumored, well in advance, to be a large-scale 100+ man planned massacre of an opposing gang meant to make the Valentine’s Day Massacre look like a Church Service (pun intended). If that was the same lead the cops had, then this does make sense… I’m usually the head rouser of rabble when it comes to anti-cop sentiment, but lets not ignore information just because it doesn’t suit the narrative intended… That’s what anti-gunners do.
“Had law enforcement released information on the officer-involved shooting in a timely manner and continued the information flow as it became available, community distrust and media skepticism would most likely have been lessened,” according to the document.” — Department of Justice After action report on Ferguson–It seems the interest of justice only applies to certain alleged criminal’s rights not all.
If certain folks are trying to change American history in the name of oppression, which all nations are guilty of at their beginnings, because sadly that is the human way. Then it is necessary to show the oppressive double standards that Americans who are Non-black, legal, and civilized are experiencing in the present time.
50 teens as the media says just trashed a Walmart in Macon, Ga, and the avoidance of any descriptions tells reasonable folks about the make up of the mob members. The mob met with the stated intent of seeing how much damage they could cause. Then they pulled an elderly gentleman from his power scooter and the savages proceeded to drag him across the floor. That level of violence and chaos had to be because of the last Southern Cross for sale on the shelf that caused the looters/protestors reaction.
Should have been a defensive gun use on the thugs, but at least the ring leader had two parents show up to jail, which contrasts with the liberal and conservative mantra of single parent homes breeding these little savages.
The judge is concerned about ‘tainting the jury pool’ but the defense wants it public. Which side do you think the video supports?
I would be more upset if this was between a gang of Hooters and Twisted Kilts servers. Biker gang members, not so much.
The whole situation stinks to high heaven.
Most of the bikers are not criminals. Yet they have to be arrested, possibly lose a job and suffer from prosecutory and judicial over-reach. Shame on you Waco!
9 bikers dead, no other citizens killed, at a public, “family” place. Just sounds like good shooting to me. I’ll wait till the trial is over.
Paint with a broad brush much? Biker does not equate to criminal or even dirtbag. There are no more or fewer criminals who ride motorcycles than in any other demographic.
At least 2 of the deceased had no connection to the 2 MC’s commonly mentioned. And most of of those arrested and held for weeks, some of whom are still in jail, had no affiliation to them either.
You know what they say about the word assume. And assumptions on the part of the police very likely contributed to the incident.
Corruption, pure and simple. The judge believes he n-e-e-d-s the POLICE/FIRE endorsement to guarantee his next election. He plays ball and they will pay off. Works that way everywhere.
Give them enough rope, and eventually they will hang themselves.. the longer they duck and cover..the worse it will be on authorities..
The “tainted jury” problem won’t be much of a problem because once the videos are released, there will probably only be a few guys going to trial. All these guys being held on imaginary RICO charges will walk.
Wait for the trial. Ferguson proved many people wrong. And Baltimore will also surprise many people.
The problem with your statement about $1M bail being unconstitutional is that there is nothing for or against how much you can make bail. Therefore your statement is nothing but rhetoric aimed at getting people worked up. And yet you get on the agitprop that we deal with from the news outlets. Hypocrite much?
Seriously?
1 million in bail is fine – if you have evidence against someone. It’s not ok if all you have are 177 cut-n-pasted “probable cause” statements with only the names changed. It’s not ok if the “judge” issuing said bail say’s it’s because you’re “from out of town”. WTF man, That’s right out of 1950’s alabama.
Nothing to see here folks. Move along citizen.
Paper this morning said the Judge & Prosecutor were “former law partners”.