The Cossacks Motorcycle Club or Cossacks MC are an American

outlaw motorcycle club An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker club or club (in Australia), is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of Cruiser (motorcycle), cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and chopper (motorcycle ...

. Said to be one of the largest outlaw biker groups in the state of Texas, they are best known for their conflicts with the rival

Bandidos Motorcycle Club The Bandidos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Bandido Nation, is an outlaw motorcycle club with a worldwide membership. Formed in San Leon, Texas, San Leon, Texas, in 1966, the Bandidos MC is estimated to have between 2,000 and 2,500 members and ...

- most notably, the 2015 Waco shootout which left seven members of the group dead. The Cossacks MC are allegedly the second-largest biker club in the state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

History

The Cossacks Motorcycle Club was founded in

Tyler, Texas Tyler, officially the City of Tyler, is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the population is 105,995. Tyler was the List of municipalities in Texas, 38th most populous city in Texas (as well as the m ...

in 1969 by a group of six bikers: Earl Swift, Charles Hanks, Butch Cheatham, Paul Henley, Tom Eliason and Carl Blair. The club was named after historical

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

horsemen of Ukraine and southern Russia. Membership eventually grew in number, with many chapters being established across the state of Texas. Chapters of the club also exist in Ohio, Indiana and Virginia.

Criminal allegations and incidents

During November 2013, Bandidos MC Abilene Chapter President was arrested for the stabbing of two members of the Cossacks - one of which was the group's Mingus chapter President: Timothy Satterwhite. The incident occurred outside a

Logan's Roadhouse Logan's Roadhouse is an American chain of casual dining restaurants based in Houston, Texas, United States, founded in 1991 in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. There are 135 Logan's Roadhouse locations throughout twenty-two states. The chain uses retro ...

restaurant in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor County, Texas, Taylor and Jones County, Texas, Jones counties, Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan ar ...

. Nearly two years later, on March 22, 2015, a total of ten Cossacks MC members forced a lone Bandidos MC member to pull off Interstate 35 near the town of Lorena (roughly 15 miles south of

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

). The members of the Cossacks then proceeded to beat the Bandidos biker with melee weapons including chains, metal pipes, and batons. Afterwards, those members of the Cossacks MC stole the motorcycle that the Bandidos MC member had been riding. That same day, A group of either Bandidos or Bandidos-affiliated bikers (support club members), approached a single member of the Cossacks Motorcycle Club at a Palo Pinto County gas station (approximately 60 miles west of

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

and request that the Cossack biker remove his 'Texas' bottom rocker. The biker responded with refusal, resulting in him being hit in the head with a hammer and his Cossacks MC vest being taken off his person. The

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

branch of the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

was 'tipped off' by a confidential source on April 7, 2015 about a group of 100 Bandidos members expected to travel to

Odessa, Texas Odessa () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, Ector County with portions extending into Midland County, Texas, Midland County. Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

for the purpose of starting a gang war with the Cossacks MC. On April 7, 2015, the FBI's

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

headquarters were alerted to be on the lookout for potential conflicts between the Bandidos Motorcycle Club and Cossacks Motorcycle Club at the biker rallies held in the towns of Amarillo, Hondo, Midland and Odessa.

References

{{OutlawMotorcycleGroups Outlaw motorcycle clubs Gangs in Texas Motorcycle clubs in the United States 1969 establishments in Texas