Fort Wayne City Council issued a unanimous statement Wednesday condemning the attack on a Black patron of a local bar by white members of a motorcycle gang.
The statement concerning the May 30 fight at Pike’s Pub, which sits just outside the city limits in Allen County, came after a number of residents spoke at Tuesday’s regular council meeting.
In the statement, city council members acknowledged publicly the role the bar itself may have played in the incident.
Online petitions and protests have urged not only a criminal investigation into what appeared to be the involvement of members of the Outlaw motorcycle gang, but also an investigation and sanction by the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission into the bar’s license.
Council members urged the community to reaffirm its intolerance for hate, and to “prioritize safety and accountability in every neighborhood, on every block.”
They thanked those who have spoken out in support of the victim, James Simmons, and for keeping the matter before the public eye.
The case remains under investigation, according to the Allen County Prosecutor's Office.
