An Austin jury cleared all but one of six Donald Trump supporters who were accused of breaking federal law when they surrounded a Joe Biden campaign bus driving down a Texas highway days before the 2020 election.
The seven-person jury, which deliberated for most of Monday, said just one of the defendants, Eliazar Cisneros, violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 when the so-called Trump Train — a monicker for caravans to show support for the former president — drove up to the bus as it traveled north on Interstate 35 between San Antonio and Austin on Oct. 30, 2020. The group forced the bus to slow to a crawl on the highway.
Cisneros was ordered to pay $30,000 in punitive damages to the defendants and an additional $10,000 to the bus driver, Timothy Holloway. Cisneros’ lawyer said he plans to appeal the ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Both plaintiffs and defendants claimed Monday’s verdict as a victory.
Holloway and two bus passengers, former state Sen. Wendy Davis and former Biden campaign staffer David Gins, sued multiple members of the Trump caravan in 2021, accusing them of engaging in a conspiracy to disrupt the campaign in violation of the Ku Klux Klan Act. The incident led the Biden campaign to cancel campaign stops in San Marcos and Austin.
Over the past two weeks, the plaintiffs’ lawyers tried to convince the jury that the six defendants who were part of the Trump Train willingly tried to intimidate those on the bus.
“Dangerously surrounding somebody on the highway, anyone, a Republican, Democrat, anyone on the highway and forcing them out of town isn't okay, doesn't have a place in Texas, doesn't have a place in America and it has consequences,” attorney Samuel Hall told jurors during opening statements in the trial.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys had to prove the defendants were part of a conspiracy to prevent one or more people from showing support or advocating for a candidate for federal office. They also had to prove that the defendants’ actions affected the plaintiffs. The three plaintiffs said the incident on I-35 caused them emotional distress, gave them anxiety, depression or insomnia, and made it difficult for them to perform some of their duties at work.
Throughout the trial, the defendants and their lawyers insisted there was no conspiracy. While they all participated in Trump Trains leading up to the 2020 election, they did not know each other before or during the incident and had no intention to threaten, intimidate or harm those on the Biden bus that day, they said.
Erin Mersino, a lawyer for defendant Dolores Park, told jurors during closing arguments that Park’s behavior the day of the incident might have been “weird” but fell short of breaking the law.
“It may not be likable. It may not be her proudest moment. But it’s not a violation of the Ku Klux Klan Act,” she said.
But plaintiffs said the way the Trump supporters’ vehicles surrounded the bus — slowing it to 15 miles per hour on I-35 as drivers honked at them — made them feel like they were “taken hostage.”
“We didn’t know who they were and what they might be capable of,” Davis testified early in the trial.
Jared Najvar, a lawyer for defendants Joeylynn and Robert Mesaros, told The Texas Tribune that his clients waited three years to put the events of Oct. 30 into context, adding the entire situation has been “blown out of context and chilled speech.”
The Mesaros’ started participating in Trump Trains in New Braunfels as a way to show support for Trump, they testified during the trial. The New Braunfels Trump Trains were organized by two other defendants, Steve and Randi Ceh. Cisneros and Park also participated in the Alamo City Trump Train many times leading up to the election.
Two additional defendants named in the original complaint settled their case last year. The terms were not made public but they issued public apologies for their involvement.
“Looking back, I would have done things differently. I do not feel that I was thinking things through at the time, and I apologize to the occupants of the bus for my part in actions that day that frightened or intimidated them,” wrote Hannah Ceh, daughter of defendants Randi and Steve Ceh, in her apology.
The plaintiffs also filed a second lawsuit against San Marcos police, accusing law enforcement of turning a blind eye to the attack. The city settled with the plaintiffs last fall. As part of the settlement, San Marcos police officers and professional staff must receive training on responding to political violence and voter intimidation and on ways to develop community trust. The city paid $175,000 to four plaintiffs.
This is a developing story; check back for details.
This article originally appeared in the Texas Tribune.
The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
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