Rolling Thunder's last Washington, D.C. ride will be in 2019, official says

WASHINGTON (WJLA) - Rolling Thunder, the annual motorcycle event honoring military members who are missing in action or prisoners of war, is preparing for it's final ride, according to officials.

"It has been a hard decision to make, after much discussion and thought over the last six months Rolling Thunder National Officers have concluded to end our 32 year annual D.C. Memorial Weekend event," said Sergeant Artie Muller, founder and executive director for Rolling Thunder.

Next year's event -- taking place on May 26, 2019 -- will be their last demonstration in the District.

Muller, citing the increasing cost of putting on the annual event, increased harassment to sponsors and supporters and ongoing communication issues with the Pentagon Security Police/Washington Police Department, were the main reasons that factored into the decision.

"Financial factors are draining the organization funds if we continued this major costly annual event in Washington," said Muller.

Each year, the Rolling Thunder brings thousands of bikers to the National Mall in DC. Officials state that starting in 2020, individual Rolling Thunder chapters will plan to have demonstrations on Memorial Sunday in their individual states.