Wyn Delano
WMAL.com

WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Rolling Thunder’s annual “Ride For Freedom” on Memorial Day has drawn thousands of bikers to the nation’s capital to bring awareness to American prisoners of war, soldiers missing in action, and advocate generally for Veteran’s issues. Organizers now say that 2019 will be their last year in Washington, after more than 30 years of coming to the District.

“The last straw was this year at the Pentagon parking lot, when the Pentagon Police were turning away some of our bikers,” says Rolling Thunder Board Member Gus Dante. He and other members of the organization claim that frustrated bikers who were being turned away decided to leave rather than go through with the ride to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Dante also claims that Pentagon Police misdirected some of the bikers (along with the gold-star mothers they were escorting) to areas other than the Lincoln Memorial, where the group had spent $60,000 to erect a stage. “That was the top of the iceberg that really ticked us off and we said ‘that’s it’,” Dante added.

Rolling Thunder Executive Director Artie Muller says that costs have been steadily increasing for the group over the years, specifically after the Pentagon took over security for the event in 2009.

Muller says that it costs the group $10,000 to shut down roads, $30,000 for police protection, and $20,000-$30,000 to use the Pentagon parking lots. He adds that total costs have ballooned over the years to reach a current price tag around $200,000.

“We lost a lot of money [in 2018],” Dante said. “We make money selling patches and commodities: pins and patches to support this run in Washington DC. It just ticks me off.”

After last year’s debacle, Muller says that he sent the Pentagon a “nasty letter” and met with representatives of the Pentagon Police for a meeting. However, he claims the meetings didn’t bring the two sides any closer together. He argues that if they ever are to return the capital, they would need to get the Pentagon “off their backs” and return to a pre-2009 form of self-security.

“We have the right to demonstrate and they’re taking that away from us,” he added.

When reached for comment, Pentagon Spokesperson Sue Gough sent WMAL a statement:

“The department supports the peaceful, lawful exercise of American citizens’ First Amendment rights, and remains focused on ensuring the safety and security of the demonstrators and the Pentagon Reservation. The department is prepared to support the 2019 Rolling Thunder ride, as we have for the last 31 years. For the status of the 2020 ride, I refer you to Rolling Thunder, Inc.”

For 2020, Muller says his group will organize at least 6-12 “local” rides, consolidating the 90 chapters of the organization into regional rides around the country. Some in the organization, such as Gus Dante, think the local rides will be better for the mission of the organization overall:

“We will get more coverage than Washington – it won’t be two minutes and then everybody forgets about it.”

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