The Biden administration’s refusal to let the Rolling Thunder bikers assemble in the Pentagon parking lot for their annual ride to remember POW/MIAs has caused a storm on Capitol Hill.
On Fox News Tuesday, Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida said 33 other GOP lawmakers have now joined his cause to urge the Pentagon to reverse its denial of the AmVets’ permit.
The AmVets ride to support POW/MIAs and suicide prevention among veterans had drawn thousands of motorcyclists to Washington, D.C., over Memorial Day. And each year for 32 years, until COVID struck in 2020, the Pentagon was their staging area because it has the largest public parking lot in the area.
After nine other local agencies had green-lit AmVets for 2021, President Joe Biden’s Defense Department was the lone holdout. In March, the department informed AmVets the permit was approved, but then that was revoked. On April 30, the Pentagon made it official: AmVets was out.
Defense officials expressed concern that Rolling to Remember, as it’s also known, would be a COVID super-spreader event.
Mast, an Army veteran who lost both legs to an IED in Afghanistan, was one of the group’s earliest defenders. At one point, he noted, “In Joe Biden’s America, it’s harder for our veterans to get a permit than it is for illegal aliens to enter our country. That tells you everything you need to know.”
In his recent letter, Mast wrote to Biden, “Guidance from your own Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges that the risks of outdoor transmission are low, and AMVETS is willing to work with the Pentagon to ensure property safety protocols are in place.”
“In fact,” Mast added, “utilizing the Pentagon’s parking areas would enable the event to take place in the safest possible way, given that it is the largest available space to facilitate social distancing.”
“Your administration is the only remaining barrier to ensuring this Memorial Day tradition goes on as planned.”
Joining Mast in signing the letter were Florida Reps. Vern Buchanan, Greg Steube, Daniel Webster and Bill Posey.
Other News: Pentagon Denies Rolling Thunder Permit, Throwing Vets, Other Government Agencies Under The Bus