Texas jury acquits most ‘Trump Train’ drivers in 2020 Biden-Harris bus civil trial

Texas federal jurors on Monday found not guilty, with the exception of one, of the former Trump supporters who had encircled a Biden-Harris campaign bus on an interstate in the days leading up to the 2020 election on charges of voter intimidation.

The jury found just one of the six Trump supporters sued in the civil action guilty, as The Associated Press reported.

A man from Texas was sentenced to pay the bus driver $10,000 in damages and an additional $30,000 in punitive penalties when his car collided with another vehicle while the "Trump Train" roared down Interstate 35.

At the conclusion of the two-week trial in an Austin courthouse, both parties asserted that the ruling was a victory on their part.

From the Participants

The bus was scheduled to stop at San Marcos for an event at Texas State University, and it was the final day of early voting in Texas. The event was canceled after Davis and two other individuals on the bus—the driver and a campaign staffer—made numerous calls to 911 to request a police escort through San Marcos. Police offered no assistance to the bus that was not confirmed to have ever been in real danger.

Three individuals on the campaign bus, including former Democratic senator Wendy Davis of Texas, filed the case for which the five Trump supporters were cleared. They hailed the decision as a vindication and a relief.

“We’re just ready to feel like normal people again,” said Joeylynn Mesaros, one of the defendants, who described being harassed for participating in the ‘Trump Train.’

“It’s been a thousand-something days to have our day in court.”

Disagreement

Despite their disagreement with the jury's decision to acquit five of the defendants, the attorneys for those on the bus maintained that justice was served.

“When I came to this case it was never about politics that day. I’m grateful, I’m proud of my team,” said Tim Holloway, who was behind the wheel of the campaign bus on Oct. 30, 2020.

The Biden-Harris campaign bus was en route from San Antonio to Austin for an event when a convoy of pickup trucks and automobiles waving Trump flags enclosed the bus on the highway. Davis testified that she was concerned for her life.

One of the defendants, Eliazar Cisneros, bumped into a campaign volunteer's vehicle in a video that Davis captured from the bus. The trucks occupied all lanes of traffic, resulting in a 15 mph trek for the bus and all those in its vicinity.