CLOVIS, Calif. (KION) \u2014 New questions are emerging after a confrontation during the Clovis Rodeo Parade over the weekend, where police ordered a group of motorcyclists to leave, calling them gang members. <\/p>\n
Now, a legal expert says that the decision may have crossed a constitutional line.<\/p>\n
The incident happened Saturday in the middle of the parade, when Clovis police approached a group of men wearing motorcycle club patches and told them to either remove the patches or leave the area. <\/p>\n
The confrontation was captured on video.<\/p>\n
In the footage, officers can be heard warning the group: \u201cYou guys are going to jail if you don\u2019t leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police say the parade is a private event organized by the Clovis Rodeo Association, which does not allow gang-related clothing.<\/p>\n
But members of the Five Diamonds Motorcycle Club dispute that claim.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve never been validated as a gang,\u201d said member Robert Verduzco. \u201cBut under threat of being arrested, we left.\u201d<\/p>\n
Verduzco, who has been with the club for decades, says the group considers itself a motorcycle club, not a gang, and feels unfairly targeted by a community they say they\u2019ve supported through years of charity work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had my family with me, grandkids, wife, and we were just standing there watching the parade,\u201d he said. \u201cOfficers started swarming up on us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The confrontation took place on a public sidewalk, raising legal concerns about whether the group\u2019s First Amendment rights were violated.<\/p>\n
An attorney who specializes in policing and First Amendment law says the distinction between private and public space is critical.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the individuals were on a public sidewalk, there\u2019s a real question whether they were actually attending a private event or simply watching from a public place,\u201d Peter Bibring said.<\/p>\n
If it\u2019s determined they were on public property, the attorney says their actions, including wearing club patches, could be protected speech.<\/p>\n
Verduzco says he plans to send a letter to the Clovis Police Department demanding clarification.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they can say we\u2019re not considered a gang, and this won\u2019t happen again, I\u2019ll leave it alone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Clovis police said: \u201cMembers were asked to either remove their cuts or leave the area. Thankfully, they complied and left. If an arrest had been made, it would have been for Clovis Municipal Code 5.27.509.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, that municipal code appears to address behavior, not clothing.<\/p>\n
Legal experts note that while courts have reviewed cases involving alleged gang-related attire, clothing like motorcycle patches can still be protected under the First Amendment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s not protected speech,\u201d the attorney said.<\/p>\n
The Clovis Rodeo Association, which organizes the parade, released a brief statement thanking the city and police for maintaining a \u201csafe, family-friendly celebration,\u201d but declined to clarify specific rules about attire.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, members of the Five Diamonds Motorcycle Club say they\u2019ve attended the parade wearing the same clothing for years without issue, until now.<\/p>\n
They say they are considering legal action if they continue to be labeled as a gang.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLOVIS, Calif. (KION) \u2014 New questions are emerging after a confrontation during the Clovis Rodeo Parade over the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-289135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}