DC throws up roadblock
for patriotic bikers
Permit denied for
rally to counter Muslim march
(Biz Pac Review)
- The countdown to Sept. 11 commemoration demonstrations
by patriotic bikers versus a fringe Muslim “truther” group is taking shape, and
despite some confusion about the technicalities, the court of popular opinion
isn’t even close:
Let the good guys roll.
Denied a permit by the
nation’s capital for a special “non-stop” ride through town with a waiver for
red lights, stop signs and other traffic controls, organizers of the “2
Million Bikers to DC” ride to remember 9/11 are undeterred.
Just riding on a public street doesn’t take
any special permission after all, even if you have a million people doing it.
They just sought the permit to make life easier on the city’s residents and
businesses.
So the ride will go on. It’s just going to
take a little longer.
“We find this
regretful for the residents and businesses of that great city, and humbly offer
our apologies,” organizers wrote on
Facebook Saturday. “What could have been a one or two hour
ride through will now likely be an all-day event. We will be obeying all laws.
We will be stopping at all stoplights, stop signs, and yielding to all
pedestrians.”
The ride’s route won’t
be posted in advance for security reasons, but the lineup is set to begin at 8
a.m. Wednesday at the Harley Davidson of Washington (9402
Livingston Road, Fort Washington, Md.) with a blessing, Pledge of Allegiance
and guest speakers.
Kickstands go up at 11 a.m.
(UPDATE: Organizers of
“2 Million Bikers to DC” have been monitoring coverage of the event closely. In
a comment on this story posted below, the group thanked the unofficial response
from the Beltway-area police.)
We WILL ride as we did not really need a
permit, but did apply for THEIR benefit. We were told by Sheila Gotha of the Permits DEPT. “This Ride Only event has been denied.” When
asked why, her only response was “It’s a weekday and DC residents are not going
to happy with you folks.”
We did our best to explain that IF we received
assistance with road blocks, etc. it would be beneficial to the residents of DC
as we would be able to get through in much less time. Her response, “Permit Denied”. NOW I will say almost every LEO Dept that was
on that call did reach out to us afterwards. They were concerned as well, but
MOST were VERY SUPPORTIVE! They were not able to help with road blocks, but
wished us well!
Meanwhile, the Muslims have a permit, but how
much of a protest is tough to predict.
The American Muslim Political Action Committee
announced Saturday it had received a permit for the misleadingly labeled
Million Americans Against Fear demonstration – formerly known as the Million
Muslim March – to go ahead Wednesday on the National Mall.
It
also announced it had received a commitment from U.S. Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver,
D-Mo., former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus to speak at the
event.
However, the demonstration has drawn little
support from better known Muslim groups and will likely be dwarfed by the
bikers in the streets.
http://www.bizpacreview.com/2013/09/09/bikers-denied-no-stop-permit-for-911-rally-apologize-to-residents-82999
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