Lawsuit against 'Trump Train' drivers who swarmed Biden bus in 2020 goes to trial in Texas

Days before the 2020 presidential election, cars and trucks adorned with pro-Trump flags nearly ran a Biden-Harris campaign bus traveling south on Interstate 35 in Texas off the road. For roughly 90 minutes, "Trump Train" members shouted, honked and weaved in and out of traffic around the vehicle, with one crashing into a Biden campaign staffer who was following the bus on the journey from San Antonio to Austin.

"Terrified," the bus's three passengers – former Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis, who gained national attention for her 15-hour filibuster of a bill restricting abortions in 2013, a Biden staffer and the driver – called 911 and canceled the Austin stop of their "Battle of the Soul of the Nation" tour as a result of the incident, they said.

In 2021, the passengers sued some of the Trump Train drivers in federal court under the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, which forbids two or more people from threatening, harassing, or using violence to prevent a citizen from engaging in political support or advocacy.

A weeklong jury trial began Monday in a packed Austin courtroom. The plaintiffs are seeking punitive and compensatory damages as well as attorneys' fees, as per the complaint.

The plaintiffs are accusing the defendants of launching an "organized, coordinated ambush" to intimidate the Biden campaign and prevent passengers from engaging in political activity, noting that the event was planned publicly in several social media posts.

"What (the defendants) did on Oct. 30, 2020, wasn't peaceful patriotism," said Samuel Hall, an attorney for the plaintiffs. "It was intimidation. The law that they broke gives us the power to hold them accountable."

The defendants argued that the convoy was simply an enthusiastic expression of political support for Trump, similar to other "Trump Train" events that took place throughout the summer of 2020. They also noted that car-based events were popular during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It was a rah-rah group that sought to support and advocate for the candidate of their choice in a very loud way," said Francisco Canseco, an attorney for defendant Eliazar Cisneros.

Canseco accused the plaintiffs of engaging in a different kind of conspiracy: politically motivated "lawfare" intended to "drain Republicans of their money."

Presiding Judge Robert Pitman of the Western District of Texas has previously rejected several of the defendants' motions to have the case dismissed.

The plaintiffs, all present Monday, include bus driver Timothy Holloway and then-Biden staffer David Gins. Davis was a congressional candidate at the time of the incident.

Most of the defendants were present, including stay-at-home mom Joeylynn Mesaros and her husband Robert, a plumber; Steve Ceh, a pastor from New Braunfels, and wife Brandi Ceh, an employee at Hallmark; and Dolores Park, a mom of five. Cisneros was absent.

'Raging to chase down the Biden bus'

In the plaintiffs' opening statements, Hall presented a barrage of expletive-laden social media posts, comments, videos and private communications from the defendants to argue that the "Trump Train" members intended to shut down their Democratic opponents' campaign events, including by using the term "#blockthebus" on posts urging supporters to show up in San Antonio.

In one communication, Joeylynn Mesaros wrote, "We're raging to chase down the Biden bus. It looks like others are ... too." She described the event in a social media post as "giving (the bus) a friendly escort out of town."

Hall also said the defendants gloated about the incident's effect.

In one Facebook comment shown by Hall, defendant Cisneros – who had a minor collision with the Biden staffer trailing the bus – bragged about "slamming" into the staffer.

In a video of Ceh, the pastor says to a crowd, "Any socialist coming to the state of Texas, we're going to escort them right out of Texas." Ceh smirked in court as the video played.

"This type of political harassment – against Republicans, against Democrats, against anyone – does not have a place in America," Hall said, concluding his statement.

On the defendants' side, the four attorneys making opening remarks each denied that their clients intended to do anything more than loudly support their chosen presidential candidate – Trump.

A lawyer for Park said the videos should be considered in the same way one would consider a fan "in the heat of watching a sports game."

During a livestream on Facebook, her client recorded herself saying, "They think they're gonna sneak and get off the highway but it's not gonna work."

Park's attorney presented videos she said showed that Park's vehicle largely did not come near the bus, instead trailing "a great distance behind it" except when Park moved in front of the bus to exit the highway.

Jared Nabar, the attorney for Joeylynn and Robert Mesaros, spoke little on the facts of the case, saying the trial would show the jury the context behind the clips and social media posts.

"They're gonna make my case for me," he said of the plaintiffs, adding later, "This lawsuit is an abuse of the judicial system and nothing more than an attempt to silence the defendants."

Attorneys from the Texas Civil Rights Project and the Protect Democracy Project are representing the plaintiffs.

The trial is scheduled to end Sept. 17.

In a separate lawsuit, the plaintiffs in 2023 settled with San Marcos police in a case accusing officers of violating the Ku Klux Klan Act by ignoring 911 calls from the bus passengers.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Trial on 'Trump Train', Biden-Harris campaign bus begins in Austin