A woman across the street appeared to take a picture of the
four men, who were all wearing black leather vests with patches saying
“Mongols” and “Lifetime member.”
Two of them, one of whom introduced himself as Blade, yelled
across the street.
“Wait, take another one!” he said, posing with his arm
around another member and smiling broadly.
The woman put her phone down and walked away.
Some establishments at the Stockyards had signs on their doors stating, “NO club affiliated attire of any kind allowed inside our establishment.”
On Friday and Saturday, local police beefed up their presence in the Fort Worth Stockyards after ATF warned the Mongols were planing a rally there. An ATF intelligence note warned the Mongols were planning a “run” in the Stockyards Friday or Saturday. The notice, copies of which were sent to the Star-Telegram, stated the club members were expected to start arriving late Thursday and there could be anywhere from 300 to 700 bikers.
The four Mongols members outside White Elephant bar on
Saturday night said all of this is all misconception.
None of the men wanted to provide their names. Only one, who
had on a backwards hat and others described as their “boss” provided a
nickname; Blade.
“We like to go places and hang out with our brothers and
spend money in local shops,” he said.
He said he was not allowed to say how many members were at
the Stockyards, but pulled up a picture of the group from the night before on
his phone. About forty men, most wearing black leather, stood on a stage at a
Stockyards bar. He pointed at signs on nearby doors that banned “club
affiliated attire of any kind.” He said those signs kept the Mongols out of
most shops and bars in the Stockyards.
“I went into a shop to buy a Fort Worth t-shirt for my
daughter and wife, and they wouldn’t let me in. I’m fine with it, but my wife
is gonna be like, ‘where’s my souvenir?’” Blade said. The only place that let them in, he said, was the White
Elephant Saloon and the Love Shack.
The saloon and Love Shack Manager Bill Chmielewski said the
Mongols have been great customers.
“They’re very respectful, they’re been very kind to my
employees. That’s the kind of customers we want,” he said. Another Mongols member, whose vest said “Florida” on the
back, said the stigma against them is created by the media and shows like Sons
of Anarchy, which portray motorcycle clubs as lawless and violent.
“We like to spend a ton of money and to have a good time,”
he said. “We’re just like any other organization.”
Another member, who was wearing a black and white hat and
sunglasses on his neck, chimed in.
“We’re not bullies, we’re not disrespectful. We tip and we
tip well,” he said. “We’re a brotherhood. We are family.” In their note, ATF wrote one of their concerns was possible
violence between the Mongols and their rival, the Bandidos Motorcycle Club. “Although only operating in Texas for a short period of
time, violence has already transpired between the two adversaries in Houston,
Fort Worth, and Dallas,” the ATF stated in its note.
Officer Brad Perez, a Fort Worth police spokesman, said in a
previous interview Fort Worth police were not expecting any issues between the
two groups at this weekend’s rally.
“Several representatives of the Fort Worth Police Department
have spoken to the local Mongols chapter president and he assured us that the
local Bandidos chapter has been made aware of this gathering and that they do
not expect any issues,” Perez said in an email. “The concern with this
particular gathering is the number anticipated to participate.” However, the four members said law enforcement was
overreacting to the Mongols’ presence.
Fort Worth police issued a statement on social media on
Friday about the motorcycle rally.
“We have not issued any advisories to avoid the Stockyards
this weekend due to motorcycle club rallies. We will have additional officers
working the Stockyards this weekend,” the post stated.
In June, 21 members and associates of a Tennessee chapter of
the Mongols were indicted by a federal grand jury with various alleged crimes,
including racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, attempted
murder, kidnapping, robbery and large-scale drug trafficking.
Earlier in the year, the same chapter had 19 members and
associates indicted on charges of racketeering conspiracy, murder, drug
trafficking and other related crimes.
As of 8 p.m. Saturday, there were no violent crimes reported
in the Fort Worth Stockyards related to the Mongols.
Story By: Kaley
Johnson
SOURCE: Star-Telegraph
