Texas jury acquits most “Trump Train” riders in civil case over Biden-Harris bus incident in 2020

AUSTIN — A jury in a federal court in Texas on Monday dismissed voter intimidation charges against all but one of a group of former President Donald Trump supporters surrounding a Biden-Harris campaign Bus on a highway a few days before the 2020 election.

Only one of the six Trump supporters charged in the civil case was found guilty by the jury. A Texas man whose car struck another as the “Trump Train” caravan sped down Interstate 35 was ordered to pay the bus driver $10,000 and another $30,000 in punitive damages.

Both sides declared victory at the end of a two-week trial in an Austin courthouse. The five Trump supporters who were acquitted in the lawsuit – filed by three people on the campaign bus, including former Democratic Rep. Wendy Davis of Texas – called the verdict a satisfaction 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 over a thousand days before we've been in court.”

Lawyers for the bus passengers said justice had been done, although they disagreed with the jury's decision to acquit five of the defendants.

“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 October 30, 2020.

The Biden and Harris campaign bus was en route from San Antonio to Austin for an event when a group of cars and pickup trucks waving Trump flags surrounded the bus on the highway. Davis said she feared for her life.

A video Davis recorded from the bus shows one of the defendants, Eliazar Cisneros, ramming a campaign worker's car while the trucks blocked all lanes, forcing the bus and everyone around it to travel at speeds of 15 miles per hour.

It was the last day of early voting in Texas, and the bus was scheduled to stop in San Marcos for a Texas State University event. The event was canceled after Davis and others on the bus – a campaign staffer and the driver – repeatedly called 911 and asked for a police escort through San Marcos, but no help came.

The trial centered on the question of whether the actions of the “Trump Train” participants amounted to political intimidation.

No criminal charges were filed against the six Trump supporters.

A lawyer for Cisneros, the only convoy member found guilty by the jury, announced that an appeal would be filed.

“As far as my client is concerned, it is not over yet,” said lawyer Francisco Canseco.

Davis testified that she was scared and worried throughout the ordeal. “I feel like they enjoyed scaring us,” she testified. “It's traumatic for all of us to relive that day.”