A federal jury in Texas on Monday dismissed voter intimidation claims against all but one member of a group of supporters of former President Donald Trump. They surrounded the Biden-Harris campaign bus. on the interstate just days before the 2020 election.
Of the six Trump supporters sued in civil court, only one was found liable by a jury.
A Texas man has been ordered to pay $10,000 to a bus driver and an additional $30,000 in punitive damages after his vehicle struck another vehicle as the “Trump Train” sped down Interstate 35.
At the end of a two-week trial in an Austin courtroom, both sides declared victory. The verdicts vindicated five Trump supporters, who were acquitted in the case, which was brought by three people, including former Texas Democratic Rep. Wendy Davis, who was on the campaign bus.
“We're just ready to feel like normal people again,” said Jolyn Meszaros, one of the defendants, who said she was harassed for joining the “Trump Train.” “It's taken over 1,000 days for us to have a trial in court.”
Lawyers for those on the bus said they disagreed with the jury's decision to acquit five of the defendants but that justice had been served.
“When I got involved, I wasn't thinking about politics that day at all. I'm grateful and I'm proud of my team,” said Tim Holloway, who was driving the campaign bus on Oct. 30, 2020.
Davis said she feared for her life when the Biden-Harris campaign bus was traveling from San Antonio to Austin for an event when a group of cars and pickup trucks waving Trump flags approached the bus on the highway.
Video recorded by Davis from the bus shows one of the defendants, Eliazar Cisneros, crashing into a campaign volunteer's vehicle as the truck takes up all lanes of traffic and the bus and everyone around it travels slowly at about 15 mph.
It was the last day of early voting in Texas, and the bus was scheduled to stop in San Marcos for an event at Texas State University. The event was canceled after Davis, the election staff and driver on the bus called 911 multiple times to request a police escort through San Marcos but no help arrived.
of At the heart of the trial Whether the actions of “Trump Train” participants amounted to political intimidation.
No criminal charges were filed against the six Trump supporters.
Lawyers for Cisneros, the only escort officer found liable by a jury, said they would appeal.
“As far as my client is concerned, it's not over yet,” his lawyer, Francisco Canseco, said.
Davis testified that she felt scared and anxious throughout the incident. “I feel like they enjoyed scaring us,” she testified. “It's traumatic for all of us to remember that day.”
