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Sgt. John Casto was killed in action in Paktika, Afghanistan on April 22, 2011. His services were held today in Andrews, Tx. Westboro Baptist Church decided his death was worth protesting, but members of the surrounding cities were having none of that bullshit. Rumor has it the tires on their bus were slashed (and no one in Andrews was able to work on that size of tire, unfortunately). I rode in from Midland with the Patriot Guard. Members from at least 6 other bike clubs were there, from Midland, Odessa, Andrews, and I heard there were some there from Big Spring. We were invited to escort the casket from the funeral home to the building where they had the viewing. Once there, we set up flag barrier so the grieving family could not see the dickhead protesters.
There was at least one physical encounter with the protesters. They had filed for a permit, and where ordered to stay a set distance away from the casket. One of their members broke that order and tried to get in sight of the family, and an old man beat the shit out of him with his cane. The cops then escorted the protester out of the area.
The photo is of us set up outside the funeral home; there were way more bikes there than you can see. Anyway, it was really cool to be a part of that and help see that this soldier's final service was a decent one.
There was at least one physical encounter with the protesters. They had filed for a permit, and where ordered to stay a set distance away from the casket. One of their members broke that order and tried to get in sight of the family, and an old man beat the shit out of him with his cane. The cops then escorted the protester out of the area.
The photo is of us set up outside the funeral home; there were way more bikes there than you can see. Anyway, it was really cool to be a part of that and help see that this soldier's final service was a decent one.
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