Texas jury clears most ‘Trump Train’ drivers in civil trial over 2020 Biden-Harris bus encounter
AUSTIN, Texas — A federal jury in Texas on Monday acquitted a group of former supporters of President Donald Trump and found one driver liable in a civil lawsuit over a so-called “Trump train” that surrounded a Biden-Harris campaign bus days before the 2020 elections.
The two week trial period in a federal court in Austin, focused on whether the actions of the “Trump Train” participants amounted to political intimidation. Among those aboard the bus was former Democratic lawmaker Wendy Davis, who testified that she feared for her life as a convoy of Trump supporters cornered the bus along Interstate 35.
The jury awarded $10,000 to the bus driver.
No criminal charges were filed against the six Trump supporters accused by Davis and two others on the bus. Civil rights advocates had hoped a guilty verdict would send a clear message about what constitutes political violence and intimidation.
On October 20, 2020, a Biden-Harris campaign bus was traveling from San Antonio to Austin for an event when a group of cars and trucks waving Trump flags surrounded the bus.
Video footage Davis shot from inside the bus shows pickup trucks flying large Trump flags slowing to close in on the bus as it tried to pull away from the crowd of Trump supporters. One of the suspects struck the car of a campaign volunteer as the trucks filled every lane, sending the bus and everyone around it to a crawl at 15 mph.
It was the last day of early voting in Texas and the bus was scheduled to stop in San Marcos for an event at Texas State University.
The event was canceled after Davis and others on the bus — a campaign worker and the driver — repeatedly called 911 asking for a police escort through San Marcos, but no help arrived.
Davis testified that she felt scared and anxious during the ordeal. “I feel like they enjoyed scaring us,” she testified. “It’s traumatic for all of us to relive that day.”