Texas jury acquits ‘Trump Train’ for surrounding 2020 Biden-Harris bus | Texas

A jury in a federal court in Texas on Monday acquitted a group of Donald Trump supporters and found a driver guilty in a civil case. The incident occurred in connection with a so-called “Trump Train” that surrounded a campaign bus carrying Biden and Harris on a busy highway a few days before the 2020 election.

The two-week trial in a federal court in Austin focused on whether the actions of the participants on the “Trump Train” constituted political intimidation. Among those on the bus was former Democratic congresswoman Wendy Davis. She testified that she feared for her life when a convoy of Trump supporters surrounded the bus on Interstate 35.

The jury awarded the bus driver $10,000.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit had alleged that they were terrorized and intimidated for over 90 minutes on October 20, 2020, while taking a bus tour to campaign for Democrats from San Antonio to Austin in the final days of the Texas election.

About 40 vehicles bearing the words “Make America Great Again” surrounded the bus and attempted to force it off the road, playing a “crazy highway game,” according to the lawsuit.

No charges have been filed against the six Trump supporters sued by Davis and two other bus passengers. Civil rights activists hope that a guilty verdict would send a clear message about what constitutes political violence and intimidation.

In video Davis shot from the bus, pickup trucks with large Trump flags can be seen slowing down to corral the bus as it attempted to move away from the crowd of Trump supporters. One of the defendants rammed a campaign worker's car while the trucks blocked all lanes, forcing the bus and everyone around it to travel at 15 mph.

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 arrived.

Davis is best known for her 11-hour speech to the Texas Senate in 2013 to block an anti-abortion bill. She said the experience caused her “significant emotional distress.”

Associated Press contributed to this report