A jury in Texas has cleared all but one of the members of a pro-Trump trucker convoy over their involvement in a highly publicized roadway incident in 2020.
Five Trump backers in the so-called "Trump Train" were cleared of wrongdoing for surrounding a Biden-Harris campaign bus as it traveled on I-35. One Trump supporter, Eliazar Cisneros, was found liable in the civil trial for hitting a campaign volunteer's car.
The lawsuit accused the Trump supporters of intimidating the people on the bus, including Democratic former state senator Wendy Davis, who were traveling from San Antonio to Austin. The incident, which was captured on video, grabbed national attention in the final days before the 2020 election.
“For at least 90 minutes, defendants terrorized and menaced the driver and passengers,” the lawsuit alleged. “They played a madcap game of highway ‘chicken’ coming within three to four inches of the bus. They tried to run the bus off the road.”
The civil charges were brought under the Ku Klux Klan Act, a Reconstruction Era law enacted to stop political violence and voter intimidation.
No criminal charges were filed against the Trump supporters, who expressed relief to finally have their day in court after years of waiting.
“We’re just ready to feel like normal people again,” said Joeylynn Mesaros, one of the defendants. “It’s been a thousand something days to have our day in court.”
Police in the city of San Marcos reached a $175,000 settlement last year with the plaintiffs, who accused the cops of ignoring their pleas for help.
The jury in the "Trump Train" trial found Eliazar Cisneros liable for damages, ordering him to pay the bus driver $10,000 and $30,000 in punitive damages. Cisneros' lawyer said he would appeal.
The bus driver, Tim Holloway, said he is gratified by the result and that the case had nothing to do with politics.
“When I came to this case it was never about politics that day. I’m grateful, I’m proud of my team,” he said.
Back in 2020, Trump defended the pro-Trump convoy as the group fell under FBI investigation. Trump urged the FBI to focus on left-wing rioters who terrorized cities that summer following the death of George Floyd.
"In my opinion, these patriots did nothing wrong. Instead, the FBI & Justice should be investigating the terrorists, anarchists, and agitators of ANTIFA, who run around burning down our Democrat run cities and hurting our people!”
