A push for reopening at Crystal Beach Jeep enthusiasts event.
Thousands flock to Crystal Beach in part to forget COVID-19
CRYSTAL BEACH — Come and take it. Don’t tread on me. Trump 2020. Stars and bars. Stars and stripes. The tricolors of Mexico.
More people brought flags and beer than face masks and gloves to the annual “Go Topless” event for Jeep enthusiasts this weekend at the popular Galveston County beach.
Thousands flocked to the 2mile stretch of coast along the Bolivar Peninsula on Sunday, as Republican leaders push to open more business and public spaces closed for the past two months by the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas General Land Office reopened beaches on May 1 as part of a statewide reopening plan, and have given the green light for gyms to reopen Monday. Many Democrats, public health experts and scientists warn that the hasty reopening may cost thousands of lives.
Joey Roy and his girlfriend Aloha Flake spent the weekend at Crystal Beach. The Conroe couple drove up and down the shoreline in a Polaris Ranger ATV sporting a Trump 2020 flag and another one that was a combination of the Confederate Stars and Bars and the Texas flag. Although they have worn face masks in other situations, they did not feel the need while enjoying the sun and sea breeze.
“We take precautions and of course, we’re safe, but at the same time, we gotta live,” 46year-old Roy said. “This is our right. This is why we live here. This is why America is great.”
The rapid spread of the coronavirus in April prompted Galveston County officials to temporarily close Crystal Beach for Easter weekend. Cypress resident Adam Ray wore a face mask to get a haircut last weekend but did not do so on Sunday when he and his fiancee Megan Stratton, 37, took their five children and five of their friends to Crystal Beach where they enjoyed the water, played cornhole, grilled some meat and listened to country music.
“I did five years in the Army,” said Ray, 38. “I’ve been shot with anthrax and smallpox during two tours over in Iraq. I figured I’d be fine.”
Stratton said the children formed a tight group after being home since spring break. With no one in their group suffering from preexisting medical conditions and no one sick with any illnesses, she felt it was a safe activity.
“I think their mental health is more important at this point,” Stratton said. “They’re pretty resilient. None of them have gotten sick, not even a cold. Maybe some allergies, but that’s it.”
But there is more to worry about at the beach than the coronavirus. Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset said the event takes on a more intense vibe after the sun goes down, with people more interested in drinking and partying than cruising and enjoying the beach.
“A totally different crowd comes in at night,” Trochesset said. “It’s like a shift change.”
Two men were shot late Saturday night during a fight on the beach near South Monkhouse Drive, the sheriff said. The shooter fled, while the two victims were airlifted to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston where they underwent surgery Sunday morning. Their condition was not immediately known, but the case remains under investigation.
Law enforcement officials kept a heavy presence on the beach and along Texas 87 on Sunday with sheriff’s deputies making traffic stops on the beach, Texas Department of Public Safety state troopers patrolling the roads and volunteers with Texas Search and Rescue manning first aid stations.
Crowds for the event normally thin out on Sunday, but with high unemployment due to the coronavirus pandemic, Trochesset said law enforcement officials planned to maintain a heavy presence on Sunday night.
“Here lately, not as many people have to work the next day,” Trochesset said.
Dallas resident Jason Simpkins was camped out on the beach in an RV with his wife and their 5year-old daughter at the time of the shooting. Although they felt safe with the presence of law enforcement, Simpkins said chaos ensued after the shooting.
“When you have four rows of traffic, people parked on the beach and the tide coming in — where are they gonna go? They were literally running through there,” Simpkins said.
Houston resident Kyle Curtis said people fleeing the incident ended up at his RV along the beach. The 23-year-old HVAC repairman has attended the event since high school and said he came this year, despite the pandemic.
“I wasn’t anticipating a shooting,” Curtis said. “I just wanna come out here, blow off some stream and have a good time.”
Spring resident and Jeep owner Miguel Medina said “Go Topless” began as an event for Jeep clubs and enthusiasts to take the tops off their vehicles. Medina started participating in the event in 2015, but Jeeps are now the minority of vehicles on the beach.
Jeep club members, he said, used to enjoy each other’s company, show off their vehicles and spend Sunday cleaning up the beach. Neighbors from nearby condos spent Sunday picking up trash, which included broken liquor bottles. Glass is prohibited on the beach.
The Pennsylvania-based Jeep accessories vendor Extreme Terrain pulled sponsorship of this year’s event at Crystal Beach due to the coronavius pandemic.
In response to more than 100 arrests at the event last year, Crystal Beach residents launched an online petition to end the event. The Bolivar Peninsula Chamber of Commerce did not promote the event this year, but it was listed on other community calendars.
“Because of the accidents and the fatalities that happened last year, the Jeep community has started to avoid Crystal Beach to change that mentality and association,” Medina said.