A jury in Texas has delivered a mixed verdict in a civil trial stemming from a controversial incident in 2020, where a group of pro-Trump activists surrounded a Joe Biden campaign bus on a highway. After a two-week trial, the jury cleared five defendants of liability while finding one, Eliazar Cisneros, liable for $40,000 in damages for conspiring to intimidate the campaign.
The plaintiffs, motorists aboard the Biden campaign bus, accused the six defendants of violating state laws and the federal Ku Klux Klan Act, which aims to combat political intimidation and violence. The jury’s decision is seen as particularly significant in the current climate of heightened political tensions, with co-counsel John Paredes emphasizing that it sends a strong message against acts of political intimidation during elections.
The five acquitted activists—Stephen and Randi Ceh, Joeylynn and Robert Mesaros, and Dolores Park—expressed relief at the verdict, calling it a vindication against what they viewed as a politically motivated case. Randi Mesaros described their experience as feeling “like zoo animals in a cage,” highlighting the stress of the accusations and the desire to return to normalcy.
The incident in question occurred nearly four years ago, when the six defendants participated in a “Trump train,” a caravan of vehicles supporting the Republican nominee that swarmed the Biden campaign bus on Interstate 35. Video footage from the event showed approximately three dozen vehicles maneuvering to box the bus in and slow it down, prompting the driver, Timothy Holloway, to make a swift exit to evade the group.
Following the incident, Holloway and two passengers, former Biden campaign staffer David Gins and former Democratic state senator Wendy Davis, sued in 2021, alleging political violence that led to the cancellation of three Biden campaign events in the area. The incident also involved at least one collision, and Trump publicly praised the participants, stating, “I LOVE TEXAS!”
Legal arguments in the case referenced potential violations of Texas civil assault and conspiracy laws, alongside the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which asserts that intimidation and threats have no place in American politics. This ruling marks the first time a defendant has been found liable under this federal statute in recent years, as prosecutors increasingly invoke it amid rising political polarization.
While the Trump supporters acknowledged their involvement in the Trump train, they denied any premeditated intent to harm those aboard the bus. However, evidence presented at trial indicated that Cisneros, a U.S. Navy veteran, was instrumental in the plan to “escort” the bus.
The jury’s decision ordered Cisneros to pay $30,000 to the three plaintiffs and an additional $10,000 to driver Holloway. Cisneros’s attorney has stated plans to appeal the verdict. Last year, two original co-defendants in the case settled privately and issued public apologies. Additionally, the city of San Marcos agreed to pay $175,000 to the plaintiffs over allegations that local law enforcement failed to respond adequately to pleas for help during the incident.