Welcome to the oldfashioned Masonic podcast where we talk all things Freemasons while drinking in oldfashioned I’m Brian so no oldfashioned a little early for that so we’re talking about some big news in Texas um in July of 2023 brother Robert Wise was um murdered outside of his Masonic Lodge
And fast forward I’m going to read you excerpts from the press release from a lawsuit that has been filed so bear with me first of all um uh brother Robert Wise um you know we we uh appreciate your service to masonry and we we hate that we’re even uh
Discussing your name in this uh this this this lawsuit so let me read the press release and then kind of go through the the case real briefly so we don’t bore you too much now if you want to have um we’ve got a copy of the press
Release and also the case including all the exhibits uh we can get you the the the link as well it’s all public information so here’s from the press release that was released on November 29th so I’m just going to read some excerpts from it on July 10th 2023
Brother robbert Robert Wise was murdered as he left macallen Masonic lodge number 1110 in Mallen Texas now the person that murdered him I’m not going to give this guy any cred by mentioning his name I’m just going to call him the thug so when you that I’m
Not you if you guys want to know the guy’s name go look it up I’m not going to glorify this chump for doing that so the thug a known anti Mason who had a history of vandalizing both the Mallen and West Leo lodges approached w wise as he prepared to leave following an
Induction ceremony in the unlit parking lot with open access to the public the thug gunned wise down videotaping the act and then had sufficient time to post his Deed on Instagram so this is something I didn’t know so this Thug killed a brother of ours and then posted it on
Instagram due to some anti-masonic sentiment what a chump so uh just reading around so this is kind of leading up to why there’s a lawsuit so for years so the press release says for years on both the national and local levels Freemasonry has been under attack by its
Detractors um Masons have been subject to verbal verbal threats internet stalking arson vandalism and physical intimidation the release goes on to say Masonic leadership at the national state and local levels have been aware of the situation and warned its members of the potential for violence this has been part particularly true as both
Grandmasters of Texas State Lodge and warville masters of Mallen Lodge had full knowledge of the situation in Mallen so this is kind of the leadup uh Mallen Lodge had been subject had been the subject of an arson and repeated vandalism since December of 2021 the press release says the thug uh openly
Commented about his contempt against Freemasonry on the internet the press release goes on to say the leadership of both state and local levels did nothing security equipment was purchased but never installed dark parking lots with easy access access to the public remained unchanged no effort was made to warn um
The Mason Community as had been done in other lodges across the N Nation on July 12th 2023 after the murder of brother wise did grandmas G Clay Smith closed Mallen Lodge but soon reopened it for regular activities on October 17th after security equipment was installed and the last couple of sentences basically the
Lawsuit alleges negligence and gross negligence anybody that’s been in the legal World they understand that the difference and seeks to hold the freem organization at the state and local level accountable for Robert wise’s death as the lawsuit progresses the plaintiff will tear away the veil of secrecy that allowed Freemason
Freemasons to ignore the obvious while keeping their decision-making process out of the public eye the last sentence is the strongest their failure to act has legal consequence for which they will be made to answer so that’s the press release that was Rel uh released uh on November 29th so push all that to
The side so I’m going to highlight a few things here first of all the plaintiff um Josephina Sanchez which is the spouse of brother brother Robert R Robert Wise Carmen wise the daughter Devin wise the son and Dylan wise the son those are all the plaintiffs here are the defendants this
Is kind of interesting the defendants as followed the Grand Lodge of Texas Mallen lodge number 110 G Clay Smith individually he’s the current Grandmaster past Grandmaster Brad Billings named individually Juan ER Eduardo Garza pass master of Mallen Lodge named individually Manuel Dominguez he’s named individually also
As the past uh master of Mallon lodge number 1110 the plaintiffs um are seeking monetary relief of more than $1 million plus attorney fees so uh that’s pretty interesting so I’m I’m just kind of go through some excerpts from this uh here’s some things that they’re citing in the I guess you’d
Call it the petition again I’m not an attorney because I I like to make money um this is yeah this is from the plaintiff’s original petition so it cites Chris Christopher hotop a published Freemason uh writer uh public relations and marketing director for the Grand Lodge of Indiana talks about his
Blogging and that he has been citing since 2021 the alarming increased throughout US and Canada of incidents vandalism arsons and violence from the antimonic extremists which it’s kind of interesting to know here’s one of the big things in here so when you talk negligence and gross negligence um you know you’d have
To do something pretty crazy for it to be gross but this was where they’re going to try to hang on at least negligence so here’s what they’re saying on page four of this uh brief Mallen lodged purchased a light and camera system in early 2022 for approximately
$2,000 however the light and cam camera system was not installed months until months after excuse me after the murder of brother wise on March 30th 2022 the Mallen Lodge was vandalized with graffiti that read sorcery against the Holy Spirit and the human race must all be stoned to
Death the the uh brief says soon thereafter alandro Galvin a member of the lodge and Junior Warden started sending text messages to install lights and cameras to the other officers of Mallen lodges incl including Garza and Dominguez who are named in the suit um and but nothing was done 5
Months later on September 15th 2022 the criminal struck again the Mallen Lodge was vandalized the front glass door was smashed and fuel thrown into the building to start a fire so there’s two incidents um finally the the brief says finally somebody in the hierarchy spoke out uh Gregory Cano a past forville
Master Mallen Lodge and District Communicator for the Grand Lodge of Texas sent out an email to everyone in District 40a um basically it says the aternity uh the fraternity’s been under attack it’s not the first time remain Vigilant at the meetings and take necessary NE necessary precautions to secure your
Lodge building okay that email is going to be a problem for somebody so you go on to the next page and it talks about um the different attacks that have happened around the United States and Canada for example November 6 2020 the Oak Island Masonic Lodge in Canada was
Damaged by an arson Attack 2 months later on January 7th of 2023 a fet lodge in Ellington con uh Connecticut was damaged by an arson attack a month later February 21st violence struck again close to home and a D iCal um arson attack happened at the
Uh Yano Grande Masonic Lodge in West loo Texas so um that the brief says this act should have prompted action so um another thing they’re citing this is going to be interesting when you go to page six this is where they’re tagging Billings in and so I’m
Going to read from this listen I don’t have a dog in the hunt I’m just reading from this I think it’s interesting uh you know when you treat these like businesses if I was a business owner there’s some problems in here so this is what this says on Page Six in
2022 Brad Billings knew about a $6,500 expense for a beach boondoggle during his Grandmaster conference that provided food and alcohol and lodging at the beach it begs the question that if col Lodge could expend funds on entertainment why did they not spend money on security at the time when the
People in Authority knew there was a problem furthermore how difficult would it have been to Simply alert the Masons that a particular violent person was praying on them like a wolf in fold uh the thug was actually actually vandalized both Mallen and West loo Lodge and he threatened to do it again
So that brought Billings in the mix um they’re saying that uh uh G Clay Smith the current Grand Master could have done more you listen you can always do more um I can site a bunch of stuff so I’m looking through exhibits which is really interesting and this is on this uh one
Of the the photos um uh of a lodge there in Texas which they were writing about the CIA uh uh here’s some stuff on on the door of a lodge that uh talks about the the Holy Spirit and everyone must be stoned and that was at Mallen Lodge you can go into more
Exhibits of where I I’m looking at photos of the lodge burned where they threw some sort of fuel inside um I’m not showing any photos of of of the the the terrible incidents where a thug shot down a brother of ours at just a little uh little too much um in my opinion
So let’s just kind of go back here just just put your business hat on take take your I’m a I’m a Master Mason I can’t believe somebody’s suing the Grand Lodge of Texas oh my gosh what’s going on first of all this is a a widow of a
Fallen brother so uh choose your words wisely guys we’re uh you know she she’s lost somebody she loves and and uh the kids have lost a father and you know yeah we’ve lost a brother as well but I think their their cuts a little bit deeper right so there their cases hinging on
This Masons knew about this thug doing all this stuff forget the national stuff but they knew around what was going on in the area then the lodge bought additional allegedly bought additional lighting and cameras but failed to do anything until after he was killed there some sort of negligence is going to
Happen here if not gross negligence I think gross is going to be hard to prove but you attorneys on here tell me what tell me one of the many reasons why I’m an idiot and I’m I’m I’m but but Stick it to this for now so
Uh I think it’s going to be interesting there’s going to be a lot of questions ask of hey you got the equipment and the lighting now would that have stopped it maybe not but that doesn’t mean that you don’t try to you know Walmart doesn’t put cameras in that it’s going to stop
All of it it’s kind of as a deterrent and would more lighting have helped maybe I don’t know about the cameras uh I don’t think you could ever have enough lighting so I’m just going to throw this out to everyone forget about the the case here for
Now the antimonic sentiment it seems to be at an all-time high um it may start to pick up more with uh the Catholic band you know we we’ve got a lot of Catholics in our ranks and and uh I don’t think we’re worried about getting attacked from the inside and but I think
Everyone should take a good survey of their Lodge most of us meet in the evenings we come out and this time of year it’s dark lighting should be a key component anyway to me uh personally I don’t think anybody should be walking out a lodge by themselves um I know there’s an argument
Out there uh well you know if the brothers were were able to carry LOD uh knives or guns in The Lodges maybe that would that would have deterred it I don’t I don’t know and I’m not going to even go there everyone’s got landmarks and everyone’s got rules and stuff for their
Jurisdiction and if you don’t like it guys put up a bylaw proposal um and just you know bylaw proposals also long as you don’t violate some sort of a landmark but um I don’t think anybody should be walking out alone but look at the the the security
Of your buildings I I think a if one thing we’ve learned unfortunately from from losing a brother is there’s some things we need to talk about there’s always more safety in numbers uh cameras for sure I mean cameras are cheap now I mean I’m not pimping any brand but you know in my
House there’s probably 14 or 15 cameras at my house so um not not counting other stuff that are going on uh again cameras are cheap lighting really lighting at the end of the day is cheap I’ll guarantee you there’s there’s an El electrician in every Lodge that would be happy to
Somehow work something out with the brothers you know to to get some stuff installed but at the end of the day if you want to see the full packet this is a real deal um I can get to the information so uh just put a a let me
Know in the comments what you want and I’ll I’ll uh get something over to you but it’s an unfortunate deal but we’re not going to name the thug that lock that uh that that murdered a brother of ours so hopefully this all irons out uh Grand lodges have lots of insurance for
This type of stuff and I think in Texas correct me where I’m wrong I think the grand lodges do they own the own the buildings there they don’t do it where they don’t own the buildings where we’re from so uh but let us know um keep
Brother wise and his family uh in your thoughts and prayers and be careful on your comments because again this is a widow um whether you think that the attorneys or ambulance Chasers or not at at the end of the day they’re they’re using the legal system um and they’re
They’re it’s going to be heard in court and but keep that in mind on anything that you’ll have coming up with bylaw changes if you want to see something that’s done different thank you what did you think of this episode to continue to promote Freemasonry hit that like button
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