Current:Home > NewsTexas jury clears most ‘Trump Train’ drivers in civil trial over 2020 Biden-Harris bus encounter -WealthDrive Solutions
Texas jury clears most ‘Trump Train’ drivers in civil trial over 2020 Biden-Harris bus encounter
View
Date:2025-04-14 19:55:30
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal jury in Texas on Monday cleared a group of former President Donald Trump supporters and found one driver liable in a civil trial over a so-called “Trump Train” that surrounded a Biden-Harris campaign bus days before the 2020 election.
The two-week trial in a federal courthouse in Austin centered 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 she feared for her life while a convoy of Trump supporters boxed in the bus along Interstate 35.
The jury awarded $10,000 to the bus driver.
No criminal charges were filed against the six Trump supporters who were sued by Davis and two others aboard the bus. Civil rights advocates hoped a guilty verdict would send a clear message about what constitutes political violence and intimidation.
On Oct. 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 that Davis recorded from the bus shows pickup trucks with large Trump flags slowing down to box in the bus as it tried to move away from the group of Trump supporters. One of the defendants hit a campaign volunteer’s car while the trucks occupied all lanes of traffic, forcing the bus and everyone around it to a 15 mph crawl.
It was the last day of early voting in Texas and the bus was scheduled to stop at San Marcos for an event at Texas State University.
The event was canceled after Davis and others on the bus — a campaign staffer and the driver — made repeated calls to 911 asking for a police escort through San Marcos and no help arrived.
Davis testified that she felt scared and anxious throughout the ordeal. “I feel like they were enjoying making us afraid,” she testified. “It’s traumatic for all of us to revisit that day.”
veryGood! (117)
Related
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- CD match, raise, or 9% APY! Promos heat up before Fed rate cut. Hurry to get the best rate
- Florida-bound passengers evacuated at Ohio airport after crew reports plane has mechanical issue
- Authorities are investigating after a man died in police custody on Long Island
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Love and badminton: China's Huang Yaqiong gets Olympic gold medal and marriage proposal
- Baseball team’s charter bus catches fire in Iowa; no one is hurt
- Georgia governor suspends Newton County commissioner accused of taking kickback
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- What is Brat Summer? Charli XCX’s Feral Summer Aesthetic Explained
Ranking
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- Love and badminton: China's Huang Yaqiong gets Olympic gold medal and marriage proposal
- Florida attorney pleads guilty to trying to detonate explosives near Chinese embassy in Washington
- Vanderpump Rules' Lala Kent Details Terrifying Pregnancy Health Scare That Left Her Breathless
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the Kansas state primaries
- Doomed: Is Robert Downey Jr.'s return really the best thing for the MCU?
- Here's what the average spousal Social Security check could look like in 2025
Recommendation
Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
Simone Biles wins gold, pulls out GOAT necklace with 546 diamonds in it
Marathon runner Sharon Firisua competes in 100m at 2024 Paris Olympics
Vermont mountain communities at a standstill after more historic flooding
Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
Scammers are taking to the skies, posing as airline customer service agents
An assassin, a Putin foe’s death, secret talks: How a sweeping US-Russia prisoner swap came together
Olympian Kendall Ellis Got Stuck in a Porta Potty—& What Came Next Certainly Doesn't Stink